Cookie Cutter Watercolor Cards

A while ago, I found a blog called Grow Creative. This lady is super talented! She had a tutorial for doing watercolor stencils that I loved! I’m not an artist at all, but I thought…I can do that! And if I can do that, I bet my kids would LOVE to do that. So, I loaded up with watercolor supplies and let the kids go. I wanted them to make some cards. We know a lot of people that live far away and cards would be a great thing to stock up on.

On Grow Creative, she actually uses stencils, but I didn’t have any on hand. But, I do have tons of cookie cutters so I decided to improvise. They worked great as replacements and honestly I think it was easier to hold them still with kid hands. My kids had so much fun! They’ve asked me several times since if they could make more.

Strawberry Shortcake Bliss

As soon as you get done reading this blog post, go to the store and get the ingredients. This twist on traditional strawberry shortcake is absolutely amazing! You don’t want this to be missing from your life for another minute.
A few years ago, we had some friends over for dinner. They brought this wonderful strawberry shortcake dessert. If I thought I adored strawberry shortcake before, this was love magnified. It is truly perfect. And it is ridiculously easy to make. I don’t even have this recipe written down it’s so easy.



Here’s what you need:


Besides loving this strawberry shortcake because it tastes so good, I love this recipe because it’s so easy for kids to help with. Other than the Jell-O, there really is no cooking at all. Here’s how you make it:

First, cut the angel food cake into squares.



Then add them to a cake pan. I try to get them into one single layer.



Next cut up the strawberries.


And definitely sneak a few bites.


Then sprinkle the strawberries all over the angel food cake.


When it’s all nice and evenly layered, go make your Jell-O according to the package directions. And pour it all over the angel food cake and strawberries.


Stick it in the refrigerator to set up for a few hours. Meanwhile, make the vanilla pudding according to the package directions. When the Jell-O is all set up, pull the cake pan out of the fridge.
Then, layer the pudding on top.


And top everything off with the whole tub of whipped topping.


I’m telling you. This dessert is like a little piece of heaven. It is divine!


Okay, now go get the ingredients and make your life complete.


Linking up at: Cups by Kim, I {heart} Naptime, Two Sasters, Craft-O-Maniac, Brassy Apple, Sweet Ann Designs, My Favorite Finds, Skip to my Lou, The Gunny Sack, Home Stories AtoZ, Tip Junkie, Sugar Bee Crafts, The Winthrop Chronicles, Ladybug Blessings, A Diamond in the Stuff, Cheap Crafty Mama, I'm Topsy Turvy, Pincushion Creations, Lil Pink Pocket, Lady Behind the Curtain, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts, A Creative Princess, Chef in Training, Live Laugh Rowe, What's Cooking Love, House of Hepworths, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Tatertots and Jello,

Make It Count

 

I came across this video a day or so ago on another blog. Have you seen it? I love it!! It’s absolutely worth watching. It’s like a very quick Amazing Race. Except there is no racing. So, really, it’s nothing like the Amazing Race. But, in it this guy travels all over the world. That was the reason I first loved it. I love traveling. There was a part of me that wanted to be in his shoes and travel around the world. 

After watching it a couple of times, I realized the real reason I love the video so much is that inside of it, he mixes all kinds of motivational quotes about making life count. (It is a Nike commercial after all). It got me thinking a lot about making it count as a mother. I sometimes feel so bogged down by the mundane that it’s so hard to make every moment count. At the same time, I can’t make every. single. moment. an incredible adventure and still have time to fold laundry. It’s all about balance, I guess. And trying every day to do better than the day before. At the end of the day, if there is only one thing I know for sure, I want my children to grow up and look back at their childhood remembering how deeply and completely they were loved by their mother. Sometimes that means folding laundry and other times that means ignoring the laundry and playing with the kids. It’s all about balance.

Since I loved the motivational quotes so much (and because as a mother, I can use all the motivation I can get), I made some free printables of all of the quotes in the video for you. Print one of them or all of them. Hope you enjoy.

 

DOWNLOAD ALL 8x10 PRINTABLES HERE

 

10 Recycled Newspaper Crafts

In honor of Earth Day I wanted to post some recycled newspaper crafts. I honestly couldn’t believe how many awesome things I came across. Creativity is a wonderful thing!

 

Always in need of gift bags? How About Orange has a tutorial on how to make your own Recycled Newspaper Gift Bags.

 

 

 

My boys would love these Rolled Newspaper Swords from Alphamom

 

 

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I love, love, love these ballet flats from See Kate Sew.

 

 

 

Here’s a newspaper hat idea from Maya Made. We might be making a few of these this summer!

 

 

 

These paper heart garlands from Think Crafts are adorable!

 

 

 

If you’re still getting your seeds started, here’s a great idea from Cottage Hill. 

 

 

 

I love this newspaper flower wreath by Michele Made Me. So clever.

 

 

 

Have you seen all of those awesome newspaper print nails on Pinterest? Here’s a tutorial from The Style Guru.

 

 

 

Not a tutorial, but how cool is this newspaper thread featured on DeZeen?

 

 

 

Finally…here’s a newspaper basket tutorial from How About Orange. I could use several of these in my house!

Love T-Shirt Makeover

I love doing t-shirt makeovers. Most of my girlie's school shirts were cheap t-shirts that I fancied up. I love dreaming up new t-shirt designs. This one has been on my mind for quite a while. Not the exact design, but the technique. Many months ago, I saw an idea on Pinterest for a t-shirt make-over using ironed-on freezer paper as a stencil. The idea of ironing on freezer paper to clothes was so interesting to me. I had never heard of it before. But instead of using it as a stencil, I thought….how cool would it be to use as a pattern of sorts. This t-shirt was so simple to make. The whole project took me less than an hour. I’m already dreaming up more t-shirt designs using the same technique.


Here’s how to make it:
To make the “Love” pattern, I decided to use my Silhouette to cut out the freezer paper. I’m sure you could probably do something similar with a Cricut…..or even just hand drawing and cutting it out yourself. I used a design that I found in their online store.

(If you’re following along and want to make your own, the design is phrase_love_2403). The exact design wouldn’t work for what I wanted. The design itself is tiny. And the V is made for rhinestones. Since this was supposed to be for a t-shirt, I wanted it much bigger.
So, I improvised. I deleted the rhinestone heart shape and replaced it with the heart from design folk_heart__star_C00932_20509. Then, I enlarged it to fit a t-shirt.

See how much better that looks?
For this project make sure you use Freezer Paper (not just regular wax paper). The freezer paper is much heavier. Luckily I already had some on hand. I pulled out about 8 inches.

Then I mounted it onto the cutting mat with the shiny side down. You have to press it on really good so when it’s in the Silhouette, the cut pieces don’t come off and get ripped while the machine is still working. Trust me on that.


Then, I let the Silhouette do it’s thing!

See how beautifully that came out? I never could have hand drawn it that well.


Next, I ironed the freezer paper onto my t-shirt. Again, make sure the shiny side is DOWN. Placing the hot iron plate onto the wrong side of the freezer paper could really make a mess of your iron!


I was trying to upcycle some of the old t-shirts we have all over the place, so I picked two pink tanks that my daughter has outgrown.


I wanted the letters in the light pink and the heart in the dark pink. First, I cut a rectangle  out of the light pink tank.


And pinned it to the inside of the t-shirt. I wanted the pins to stay on the outside of the design, but I also needed enough to hold the fabric flat.


Next, I turned the t-shirt right side out. Then, stitched around the freezer paper.

I went pretty slow around the small curves (like inside the O and E). I wanted to follow as closely as possible. {NOTE: While you are sewing, if you notice the freezer paper start to peel up,  you can re-iron it back on. I stopped sewing between every letter and re-ironed everything back down. The freezer paper tends to peel up when it’s being scrunched in the sewing machine.}

When you have the L, O and E stitched all the way around, I removed the freezer paper.

The pink thread I chose is pretty light. I honestly thought it would show up a lot darker, but it you look close, you’ll get an idea of where I stitched and what it is supposed to look like on the front of the t-shirt.
Next I trimmed the excess pink fabric near the stitch line on the inside of the fabric.


Once it was all trimmed, I started on the dark pink. I cut a small rectangle out of the tank top, and pinned it to the inside of the t-shirt under the heart shape.

Next I turned the shirt right side out and stitch around the heart.

Then trimmed the excess fabric left on the wrong side.


Now that all the pieces were stitched in place, I needed to cut out the letters and heart on the front so the pink underneath showed through. I turned the shirt right side out and slowly cut out the inside of the letters. Be SURE you are only cutting the outside fabric. All your work would be undone if you accidentally snipped the pink fabric underneath!


I went sort of slow and deliberate on this part. I wanted to make sure I didn’t cut it sloppy. After it’s all cut out, this is what you have.


Pretty awesome, right? I’m sure it won’t be long before I do another. It was so fun and easy!

P.S. Did you know that I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest?  I’d love to have you follow me there, too!