Still Under Construction...

Hey Bloggy Friends,

I am still trying to work out the bugs with  my images!  Anyone out there use Flickr and then import them into blogger?

I created a flickr account, I uploaded some images, came back to blogger and it won't let me use the flickr url to get my images!

And I have two recipes to share and a couple projects too!  I've been busy!

Please leave a comment or email if you have any idea what I am doing wrong!

Oh no!

Hey Friends, I need some advice!

I just went to add some images to a post, and was told I am all out of photo storage space!  How do I get around this?

I have been thinking about creating a domain name, but hosting through blogger. Would that help my situation?

Any advice would help! Thanks!

Playing Dress up...

Back near the beginning of the New Year, I picked up this planner.  

 Plain, Grey, Boring. 

 But it seemed to be a good planner in the aspect of big areas to write in, not to clunky, etc.  So it was a keeper. But being a keeper it needed a makeover.

The first thing I did was cut "Agenda" divider out. But I wanted to be able to pop it back in too, so I snipped each box open.

See? Now, I can put the agenda tab at my currant day for a quick open to today tab.

Next, beautifying my planner.  Using some cute scrapbook paper, I just glued a piece to the front of my planner.

Next, I trimmed it down to size, and repeated for the back.

Here you can see the front and back together.

Much better, now to figure out how to make some pockets to hold 

some of my loose paperwork that has to be in it!

Yo Gabba Gabba Land Cake

Yesterday, I shared one of the two cakes we had for Carter's 2nd birthday. Does that mean next year there will be three? Who knows. My sister went all out for her nephew's birthday! I cannot thank her enough especially since you have seen my most recent baking disaster.

Well, here  is the official birthday cake.  It's Gabbaland. Where Muno, Foofa, Plex, Brobee and Toodee hang out!

Full cake, sorry I had to crop the image to make it fit! This was about three feet wide!

Closeup of Muno, Foofa and Plex.

Closeup of Plex, Brobee and Toodee.

(FYI Plex doesn't have his own land, just a door in the wall!)

Once my sister updates her website/blog, I will link back since she has made a bunch of great cakes and sells them too!

Boom Box Cake

Just wanted to share one of two ( Yes, I said two) cakes that my wonderful sister made for my little man's birthday!

It's DJ Lance Rock's Boom Box that carries all the Yo Gabba Gabba Friends to Gabbaland!

Personalized Mylar Balloons

Do you love specialty balloons? But hate the price?  Well look no further!

Last year for Carter's Birthday I bought some awesome oversized balloons for his party through Bargain Balloons.

This year, they didn't have any that matched our theme perfectly. So I had to compromise!

Using some free printables off Nick Jr. and some great solid color mylars from Bargain Balloons, I made these great Yo Gabba Gabba Balloons.

They were my favorite thing at the party, but I love balloons in general!

With some glue ( basic glue stick worked well!), and the printables, I went from this.

After ordering my mylar balloons in the colors I needed, I waited a couple days and they were here! 

Using a regular glue stick, I glued the images to the balloon.

I found that when I glued them after they were full they were less likely to fall off.  

The images near the edges wanted to pop off, but the center glued ones worked well.

Here they are in action!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I find that since having my little man on February 11th, Valentine's day gets over looked.  I tried my hardest this year, with my conversation hearts, my yarn heart, and my attempt at a quick wreath ( looking back I wish my heart was larger, oh well. maybe next year).  

I know it may be too late to have you whip some of these up for Valentines but these are great for all occasions.  I actually made hundreds of these as Thank You's for my high school graduation party.  They look great in a vase, and attached with a little card they make great favors too.

All you need is...

I used long toothpicks, but normally I use bamboo skewers.

Hershey Kisses ( or Hugs)

Something to wrap with ( fabric, tissue paper, crepe paper)

Floral tape ( I used green crepe paper,  I was out of floral tape!)

Starting with a kiss and a skewer, push through the tip and out the bottom.

Then add another kiss so the bottoms are together.

Wrap your kisses. Wrap your skewer with floral tape. and your done!  This is a great sit in front of the tv activity!

Party Progress!

Here's another Yo Gabba Gabba project that came out great for the party!

Again, so simple! Print the freebies, cut out and glue to a paper bag! Too cute!

So far so good...

Yesterday I made some progress on my Yo Gabba Gabba birthday party decorations!  Here's one easy craft that my son went nuts for when he saw them today!

Muno cups!

Here's how easy it was!  I found red paper cups in my dollar store and added a white circle, and drew the rest of the details with a sharpie!  

This week...

Will either be filled with craft posts, or will be so busy that craft posts may barely exist...

This Friday, my baby turns 2! I cannot believe it. I kind of feel like I am denial over this.  But he is the most wonderful little boy I know ( with my nephews being a close 2nd and 3rd).  He is funny, silly and a joy to be around!  So for his birthday we decided to run with his love for Yo Gabba Gabba.  Never seen it? Check it out. It's one of those shows that doesn't drive me nuts!

Anyways, back to some craft talk.  I have spent my morning printing some freebie printables off of Nick Jr just for the occasion.  There are some cute projects on there, but there are endless possibilities with the images available through the freebie too.

Also, this afternoon will be spent finishing my prep for Crochet class, if your local I hope to see you there!

Cheddar Broccoli Soup

So, lately I have made Black Bean Soup, and Crab Chowder. This time I cheated, and used a starter kit.  But it was so good I had to share!

Have you ever heard of Shore Lunch?

I hadn't either until I found it in the soup aisle on sale.  And thought, what can it hurt?

Well I tried the Cheddar Broccoli and it was so perfect! I started my pan with some onion and garlic and then followed the directions. But at the last couple minutes added some more bigger broccoli pieces!  Delish.

Then the next night, I made a beautiful broccoli chicken casserole with it.

If you ever get the chance to try some Shore Lunch Cheddar Broccoli Soup, try it! I loved it!

Conversation Hearts, Anyone?

Gosh, I love salt dough.  Ever since my candy corn and coal. I dream in salt dough. Well not really but I have a lot of ideas up my sleeves!

When I think of Valentines day, I immediately think Conversation Hearts, even though I never buy them or eat them.  So this year I thought why not make non edible, decorative ones.  

What do you think? Cute?  Love them on my table!

First prepare your salt dough! You can see the recipe I use here.

Then roll it out like your making sugar cookies, and grab a heart shape cookie cutter.  I put my little man to work!

"Bake" in your oven. Remember your not truly baking these, just drying them out. Warm your oven up, shut the oven off and put them in overnight.

Once they are hard, paint them and put them in the prettiest bowl you own!

Minimalist Sewing

When my little man needed something extra to wear out a while back, I dug through his clothes and my fabric pile.  I came across a hand me down sweater vest that was cute in theory but tacky with a teddy bear.    So what is a sewing mom to do?  Well.  Use it as a pattern!

Just like when I made my Little Boy Pants, I used the sweater vest as a pattern, and the best part is that it is just a front and back piece. I traced the sweater and created a basic template and then went back and cut out the v-neck part of the vest.

The best part?  I used fleece and didn't even hem the edges.  This vest was super easy as you only sewed the sides and shoulders. Four seams, right up my lack of sewing motivation alley!