Fun Personalized 2X4 Photo Blocks

I saw these super cute 2X4 photo blocks over at How Does She? and I loved the idea.  So I took their idea and changed it up a bit to make it fit what I wanted to create!

Here are the steps that I took to create these wonderful gifts...

1. Cut 2X4's to size (see sizes over on How Does She?) I used 1 block per name that I was going to print.
2. Sanded the blocks, wiped the sawdust off
3. Use wood glue and clamps to glue blocks together (if desired)
4. Stained blocks with desired stain
5. Pick out scrapbook paper to coordinate with home decor
6. Measure blocks to know how big to make names
7. I used Microsoft Word Art to create the names ( you can size them like a picture if you set "Text Wrapping" to "Tight", you can also change the color of the names too)
8. Then I printed out a the name on a blank piece of paper to test the size
9. Print out name on desired paper
10. Cut to size of block
11. Modge Podge paper to block and over the top of paper
12. Get 16-18 gauge wire to hold pictures (use needle nose pliers and wrap wire around them to create picture holder) wrap wire before inserting into blocks.
13. Drill hole in blocks, the hole will need to be just a bit larger than the wire.
14. Use any kind of strong glue, put some in the hole and then insert wire. Let dry.
15. Wrap with coordinating ribbon and tie bow or just knot at top for decoration.

The finished blocks that you see I gave as a gift and my friend was over joyed with it!  She loves to take pictures of her precious kiddos (and hubby) so it is a great gift for her.  I added ALOT of picture holders on hers...you can add less if desired.

How Does She? has more 2X4 ideas...I LOVE LOVE LOVE this blog...if you haven't seen it check it out for some fun, creative and inexpensive ideas!!!

Thanks for stopping by...please feel free to leave comments and/or suggestions!



Pumpkin Pancakes...Yum Yum

My hubby grew up having these for breakfast.  When we started dating and his mom made them for me for the 1st time I wasn't sure that I would like them...I am happy to say that I love them!  Now my boys are growing up having them for breakfast.  We don't usually make them until around Thanksgiving when we're thinking about pumpkins and what we can make with them!  Then we usually continue to make them until around the 1st of the year and then the recipe gets put away until the next Fall!

Pumpkin Pancakes

1C. Pancake Mix (just add water mix)

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1/4 tsp. Ginger

1/4 tsp. Cloves

2 Tblsp. Sugar

1 egg

2 Tblsp. melted butter

1 1/4 C. Milk

1/2 C. Canned Pumpkin

Combine dry ingredients in small bowl.

Combine wet ingredients in larger bowl.

Mix together. Cook.

I cook them the same way I would cook any other pancakes.  I use a 1/4 measuring cup to pour mixture on my griddle!  The mixture will be a little on the runny side (reminds me of crepes)...they will cook up just fine! I usually make a double recipe because my family LOVES these SO much...it normally makes approx. 15 pancakes. Serve with butter and WARM maple syrup!!

Hope you enjoy our family tradition and one of our favorite breakfasts...these pancakes re-warm great and taste just as good!!!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in on my families favorite recipes!!

I am linking up to Remodelaholic Recipe party come on over and join us in sharing our favorites!!!

Candy Theme Kitchen and Candy Candle Ring

As I have been exploring blog land I have heard several people mention that they have a "Candy" theme in their kitchen for Christmas...How cute is that?  So of course now I want to participate!

Mykl over at Tres French Hens had this great idea to get candy floral picks from Hobby Lobby and make a ring for her candles. Her candles are sitting on candle holders...my candle is on a plate on my kitchen table...SO...I had to do a little modification!!!

I took a white foam ring...just a little bit bigger than my candle and wrapped it with white ribbon (you could do red or whatever color you want).  Here is the funny thing about this ribbon...it's left over from my wedding...I got married in 1995!!!!  See that's why we crafters don't throw things out, you just never know when you will need them!! =)

Then I pulled the candies off the picks or stems and hot glued them to the ring...trying to make it as random as possible but trying not to get a bunch of the same shapes together!!  Here is a close up shot of the candies glued on the ring.

Here is a picture of it all done...The plate is red!

I also found these cute candies at Hobby Lobby...so I purchased a red vase (at Hobby Lobby)!

I also have these little shelves, if you can call them that, above the windows in my dinette!  So I decided they needed some decorations too!! So I put pine garland with lights up there and tied red and white striped ribbon on it!

Also decorated the light above the table with ribbon and glass balls in red and white!  Oh my I just realized how messy my counter and bedroom floor are...Oops!!!  Oh well the life of a wife, mom and full time student!!

I am LOVING the candy theme in my kitchen...I think I will have to add to it next year!!  =)

Thanks for stopping by...leave your comments or suggestions...I love reading them!!!

My Christmas version of a Subway Tile Picture

 I have seen ALOT of blog's in which people are creating Subway Tile Pictures or prints.  Alison over at How Does She? Created a Subway Tile for a friend...How Does She? In the blog's I have seen most people are using vinyl lettering.  I liked the concept of the Subway Tile Picture however I put my own spin on it!

I purchased this frame from Ross for $4.99...as you can see it has 3 spots for 4X6 pictures...black frame with a white mat.  I have been trying to think of something to do with it since I purchased it but at that price I couldn't pass it up and I knew I would use it someday...I LOVE PICTURES!!!!  Then the other day when I was decorating for Christmas (the light bulb came on) and I said..."That's it...I know what I am going to do with that frame!!"

 So I made my family, including my hubby, sit down and write as many words as they could...words that came to mind when I said, "Christmas"...I started it and passed the paper on to my oldest son and then my youngest and then finally my handsome hubby!

Then I took the list and started to work on my picture!  First, I measured the opening of the frame (I decided I was going to make it run the whole frame, so I would have to cut out the mat that seperates each picture) Then I went to WordArt in Microsoft Word and typed in Christmas...then entered each word that was on our list...I made them go different directions different sizes but keep the font the same (Christmas I used a different font for it) and same color

Once I liked what I saw on the print preview I measured out my scrapbook paper and put it in the printer!  Here is the result:

Trial and error works best for getting it lined up in the actual frame.  As for the mat...I used a very sharp craft knife, held it at the angle of the cuts on the mat and cut out the cross pieces (the ones that were between each picture).  Then I placed my list in the white mat and then in the frame...I LOVE THE WAY IT TURNED OUT. 

 This is something that like Alison at How does She? you could personalize for friends and/or family!

Thanks for stopping by hope you have enjoyed your visit...feel free to leave comments or suggestions!!

 

Christmas Mantle redo...from BLAH to AWWW

We, my husband, kids and I, moved into a new house over the summer and as everyone knows...you have to figure out where and what you can decorate for the holidays.  Such a bummer because I had just figured out my other house but God has blessed us with living in the city that my hubby works in so he is home every night...I won't complain!!!

Anyways, I pulled out "most" of my Christmas decorations and started putting them up...thinking that I was only going to put up "a little"!  So I started by putting up our tree and then my wreath that hangs on the wall above the fireplace...and then decorated the mantle... 

Something just wasn't right...it's boring, it's not fluffy enough...I kept asking myself what is wrong?  So, as with many decorating ideas, I ran it across my mom, who lives 1100 miles away (thank you Lord for the internet).  (You can visit her at Decorating my Tin Shack ).  And yes we have stockings hanging over stockings because there is 4 of us EVERY year but this year we're being blessed with the presence of my mom and step dad for Christmas!

My glass jars have small ornaments, different sized bells, glass beads, and plastic diamonds in them...all of the colors are clear, red, green and gold!

This little tree actually holds a tea light candle!  These glass jars have the same items in them!!!  I tried to get different sized and height jars for these items.

So after talking to my mom (via yahoo messanger and sending pictures via email)...I started over on the mantle.  Keeping the wreath...I decided that there needed to be some additional height to my items...BOOKS...love books, not because I read but because they create height for decorating!  2 books on the ends and 1 in the middle!

Then I remembered that I had some "snow blanket" from last year...PERFECT!!  I put it up, helped cover the books too, oh shoot...it came up short...I was sure I had more somewhere but it wasn't in the same tote as the 1 I found, maybe I throw it away...so I started decorating the side that had "snow".  One thing that my mom suggested was that I add some greenery on the mantle, we talked about doing garland but I didn't have any...so I put up some sprigs of greenery with pine cones!

Since I didn't have enough "snow"...off to Hobby Lobby I went in hopes that they had some.  They did however it's not the same as what I already had...oh well you can't tell unless you feel it!  Added it to complete the "snow"...also purchased another tall gold tree...needed one on each side.  Added more greenery (even cut one apart to fit in the tight spots), put lights behind everything, added some ribbon to the jars and a couple more snowmen (my favorite)!

Here is a close up of a glass jar with the ribbon, small red tree (dollar store) and some of the greenery!

Close up of my centerpiece, my melting snownem.  

The other glass jars with ribbon, gold tree, snowman, small gold tree and greenery.

Close up night picture of the glass jars, SO pretty!!

Close up of the small gold tree at night!

Finished product all lite up from the warm glow of the white lights!

 Love the way it turned out!

So much MORE Christmas joy than it was before!!

Thanks for stopping by...hope you enjoyed your visit...feel free to leave any comments or suggestions!

To join us at Between Naps on the Porch follow this link:

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Great gift for grandparents

My parents and my in-laws live 1500 miles away from us and get to see my boys maybe once a year.  Last year I wanted to do something for them that would reflect the year, something that they could cherish, something that was a gift with emotional value rather than money value.

So...since I have a digital camera I send my pictures, that I want a physical copy of, to Walmart.com and either have them developed in 1 hour or in this case sent to the store (site to store) for free!!  As I was thinking about printing pictures for the grandparents I discovered the "collage" prints...you can order anything from an 8X10 to a 20X30 (poster)...prices start at $2.84 to $20.86.  So I decided to give it a try (for Christmas 2009)...I picked pictures that we had taken through out the year!  You can also put a title on your collage print at the top or bottom of the print.

Those pictures were a HUGE hit with the grandparents...at that time I decided that this was something I was going to give to the grandparents EVERY Christmas...I have attached this year's collage print below for you to checkout...and since my mom follows my blog she'll get to see it early!!  =D

Fun way to use removable vinyl stickers

One day while I was wondering through Hobby Lobby, as I do EVERY TIME I am there.  I headed over to where I know they have clearance items...I found a vinyl sticker that says "Real love stories never have endings".  Oh my goodness how perfect for my master bedroom...above the bed I share with my love.  So for a small price of around $5.00 I purchased the sticker...but wait we're moving (purchased it back in the early part of this year), so why would I put this sticker on my wall...we all know that just because it says removable doesn't mean that it comes off easily or that it would be "re-usable" after it was removed.  Well shoot...what to do?  Then the light bulb came on... 

I can put it on something that I can take with me when I move...Yeah perfect!!  So I thought about what I wanted to put it on and when I got Hobby Lobby's email on Sunday morning...you know the one that shows you the ad for the week...There it was...The posters were on sale...50% off!!!  So off I went to find a poster that I liked and one that I could put this sticker on!!!  Here is the one I picked...

Then I cut apart the sticker to separate the words so that I could place them where I wanted them on my poster...

After playing around with the placement of the words, I found the perfect layout!  With the perfect layout I began to rub the sticker on the poster...okay now how am I going to keep this poster from getting dusty and eventually looking...well dirty and gross?  Because the frame I purchased (on clearance at Hobby Lobby) doesn't have any glass nor does it have a back???  Now what???  Hummm....

Here came the light bulb again, you know the one that comes on in cartoons when the character gets a brilliant idea?!!!  Modge Podge...I will Modge Podge the poster to the cardboard backer that it comes with when you buy it and I will Modge Podge over the top to help keep the sticker on the poster and to protect the poster from getting dirty and gross!!!!

Here is the finished product...I like it!!  My only complaint is that because I Modge Podged it to the cardboard it got some wrinkles in it that I was not able to remove...but other than that I am happy with it and I can move it where ever God my send us!!!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation...Hope you enjoyed it and that it has inspired you to create something similar of your own!!!

I'm back!!!

So it has been 9 months since I last posted and my oh my how my life has changed! When I last posted I told you all about how we had to put our dear sweet Schatzi to sleep because she was becoming too aggressive! A decision that we stick by however that doesn't mean we don't miss her. Well, we have a new family member...his name is Alvin, he is a Wheaten Terrier and such a blessing to our family. We rescued him from a shelter, he is about 3 years old.  He loves to play and he loves to snuggle with me! 

We moved to a new city and home in August...I looked through my pictures but I don't have any of the house from the front.  The boys started school at their new school a few weeks after we moved in and experienced riding the bus for the first time this year.  I also started school!  I am attending our local university.  I am working towards my degree in Elementary Education, in hopes of teaching middle school when I am done.  I have been tossing around the idea of getting a minor in Math.

We are settled in our new home and really like the city that we're living in.  My favorite thing is that there is no more weekly traveling for my hubby.  He is home every night!!  We live close to all the important things...2 miles from hubby's work...3 miles from the boys school and 4 miles from my school!  We have every store we could need within 5 miles...and Hobby Lobby is just down the street and I have access to 3 of them within 5 miles of me!! =D

I am definitely busy...Thankfully the boys are taking a year off sports or else life would be CRAZY!!!  It is almost the end of my 1st semester and I can't believe how fast it has gone by! Spring semester will be a different...I am taking more credit hours so we'll see how that goes!

I plan on posting more often...I will be posting pics from the decorating I have done around the house.  (Totally re did my kitchen decor...painted the boys rooms...all that fun stuff), I also plan on posting my Christmas decorations...they're a little lacking this year, I didn't want to get them ALL out!!!

Thanks for stopping by...hope to be on here more...plan on making this my refuge from all the busy things in my life!!