General Conference Fun!

I created 3 fun coloring pages for General Conference so I thought I would share them for anyone who is interested. <3


https://www.dropbox.com/s/hp5op7n8nhm4b4l/Doc2.docx?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/40ua4pa681iabz3/Doc3.docx?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m2wd7ddpko0r4o9/Doc4.docx?dl=0

Candy Corn Crossing

I am a little obsessed with Fall. And candy corn. I had so much fun creating this sign out of old wood and a little paint. I'm considering putting "Candy Cane Crossing" on the back! Wouldn't that be adorable?

Shout out to my little sister!  Today she turned 30! She is totally awesome and I love her!  #11

Snow Crow!

I made this adorable craft this weekend just in time for fall! Which I celebrated with a pumpkin hot chocolate, of course. :)

A snow crow on one side and a snow man on the other, or as we loving refer to it around my house - a Snow Crow. It was so fun to make and I just love that it can be used from fall until winter. I really hate boxing up decorations so this saves me some time and labor!

I bought some really cheap wood at Lowe's and cut it to size with my little jigsaw. I free-handed the faces but used a stencil for the lettering. And the bows were just some things I had laying around. It's just under 3 feet tall and looks great by my front door. 

Gift cards!

I just wanted to pass on some information about how to get free giftcards. My sister's and I use a site called Swagbucks to play games, watch videos and take a few surveys to earn rewards points that can be turned into gift cards. I have been using the site for 1 month and already have 2 $25 cards on their way to me! I'm thinking about saving them up for Christmas presents. Or for date night!

Check it out!
http://www.swagbucks.com/p/register?rb=20364111

DIY wedding sign

The morning of my brother-in-laws open house,  my mother-in-law pulled me aside and said she really wanted a direction sign so guests knew where everything was. This was the end result!  Not too shabby for a last minute design (if I do say so myself)!

I used a miter saw to do the arrows and for the lettering I used a technique I learned a long time ago. You print your lettering and trace them onto the wood hard enough that it leaves in indentation. I then pain the indentation. I would never say it's the best method, but it got the job done.

My New Laminator + Dry Erase Markers = FUN!

As a preschool aide I spend a lot of time helping kids write their names. Last year I had an epiphany; laminate name tags (found at the dollar store), and let the kiddos use dry erase markers to trace their names. They trace, I wipe the name tag with a damp cloth to remove the marker, repeat, repeat, repeat. 

Laminated name tags to help preschool aged kids learn to write their name.

Over the holidays I impulsively bought myself a laminator during one of Amazon's daily deals. I absolutely love it! I try to think of all kinds of things that need to be laminated. I call this one my Sunday project, because I thought it would be fun for Macy to use at church or at home on Sundays. She can give her family facial hair, etc., and afterwards I wipe the laminated photos clean, and store them away in the coupon holder for the following week. 

Materials needed

Coupon holder from the dollar store. Holds laminated 4 x 6 photos, wipes, and dry erase markers.

One last thing that I wanted to share, is a tip to help a child hold their pen correctly. Have the child hold the pen lid with their last three fingers, Then place the pen between their index finger and thumb. If you are using a writing tool without a lid, anything similar in size will do (broken crayon, pencil eraser...). This isn't the best picture (my model wouldn't hold still), but hopefully you get the idea. 

Fabric Scrap Wreath

This was a really easy wreath I threw together with some scraps of old fabric I had around the house. The only down side is how time consuming it was. It took me about a week to finish but only because I was doing it in my spare time while watching TV. 

Step 1: Buy a metal wreath like this bad boy:

You can get them at most craft stores. It cost me $1.50 with a coupon - I got the smallest size they had. 

Step 2: Pick your fabric. I didn't measure how much I used since my fabric was bits and pieces left over from another project but I would guess a yard or two would be sufficient. My fabric frays a little (I think that's part of the charm) so if that bothers you you might want to pick up some anti fray spray or buy a fabric that doesn't fray. 

Step 3: Cut your strips. Mine were 1/2 inch x 4 inches (roughly). You just need them long enough to tie and not very wide so that your wreath looks nice and full when it's done. Some of my strips were a little smaller than others so I just made sure I varied my pattern enough that that didn't matter.

Step 4: Tie away! I did not double knot mine - just tied them really tight around each ring but if want to double tie  for more security (like if it's hanging outdoors in rough weather) you'll need to make sure your fabric is long enough. 

Step 5: Fluff and turn them all facing the same direction. 

Here's a picture of the backside so you can see what it looks like when finished. 

Happy crafting! 

Fall is Hunting season around our house.  Made this cute door hanging in honor of that. I will post directions later.

Bacon, Garlic, Cream Cheese and Chicken - oh my!

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. I sat down and asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner. "Bacon", he said. So, I came up with this wonderful little recipe.

Please allow me apologize now for the horrible picture quality - since it was his birthday the lighting was dimmed. ;) I'm just happy he was patient enough to let me snap some pictures before we dug in! And once we did, it was mouth-watering delicious!

Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts, pounded flat
6-8 slices of bacon, slightly cooked
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
1 package of Garlic and Herb Marinade mix (I used Weber brand, but any kind of flavor packet would work just fine. I almost used a french onion mix. I'm so glad I went with this one though because the marinade had a nice citrus taste to it that worked great with the creaminess of the cream cheese.)

Directions:
Mix cream cheese with half the package of marinade. Spread onto half of your chicken, fold over other side. Wrap your partially cooked bacon around your stuffed chicken and secure with tooth picks (or string). Bake on center oven rack for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Optional - broil for 5 minutes at the end to crisp up bacon.

If any filling oozed out during cooking, just throw it on top as a garnish. :)

Everyone at the birthday dinner raved about this chicken - it was a hit!!

Now, if you want to watch that bacon sizzle, take a look at the video I made of me making it!