35 Easter Basket ideas {besides candy}

March 21, 2013

Spring has arrived and has brought cold weather with it here in Indiana! I’m anxious for a little sunshine! Easter is right around the corner thought and I’m hoping for a nice, Spring day! As a little girl I remember my mom waking me up on Easter, telling me to go find where she hid my basket. I loved seeing what surprises she had tucked inside the basket. Of course she gave some candy but she would always throw in little goodies as well. This year I wanted to make a fun Easter basket for my little one but not full of candy, especially since she is 1 1/2 yrs old. I figured some of you are racking your brain too trying to think of what to toss in the basket that your kiddo’s will find fun so I made up a list! Here’s some ideas that I found…

photo (77)

  1. Play dough
  2. Puzzles
  3. Bubbles
  4. Coloring books – I still love coloring ;-)
  5. Markers and crayons
  6. Fun toothbrush
  7. Silly putty
  8. Slinky
  9. Movies
  10. Sand toys
  11. Pool toys (squirt guns, goggles, etc.)
  12. Superheros
  13. Bouncy balls
  14. Sidewalk chalk
  15. Barbies
  16. Legos
  17. Letters and shapes for bath time
  18. Eggs full of small toys
  19. Blocks
  20. Sunglasses
  21. Hair accessories
  22. Nail polish
  23. Movie tickets
  24. Stuffed animal
  25. Cologne
  26. Frisbee
  27. Personalized stationary
  28. New PJ’s
  29. Sippy Cups
  30. Stickers
  31. Children’s Bible
  32. Crazy socks
  33. Finger paints
  34. Jump rope
  35. Board game

Hope you find some of these helpful!

Love your guts!

FOLLOW ME via FACEBOOK, PINTEREST & INSTAGRAM.

FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
7 Comments / Filed Under: DIY, Holidays, Kiddos Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Spring Wreath!

February 18, 2013

Well I’ve had my Christmas wreath hanging up since November aaaand I figured it was about time to take it down so I don’t look like the trashy neighbor. I was looking through my craft room trying to find a wreath to reel in Spring. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. ONLY a straw wreath that looks to be bringing back Fall and hayrides. I didn’t want that straw wreath so full of beauty {more like the lack thereof} to go to waste so I put it to a little Spring use. Since it was still in the plastic wrap, I decided to just wrap yarn around it and add a little somethin’ somethin’ to it. Check out how easy it was…

Items Needed: 

  • Styrofoam Wreath
  • Yarn
  • Felt
  • Scissors
  • Glue Gun

the “How-To”:

1. Start by wrapping your yarn around the entire wreath, glueing the start and finish ends of the yarn to the wreath.

photo (22)

photo (23)

2. Cut out your shape of choice from your felt. I chose to do “leaf shapes”.

photo (21)

3. Glue on your felt shapes.

photo (19)

photo (20)

4. Display!

photo (24)

I’m obsessed with this color of green! It pops PERFECTLY off of our black door. :) )

photo (41)

FOLLOW ME via FACEBOOK, PINTEREST & INSTAGRAM.

FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
2 Comments / Filed Under: DIY, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

20 Fun Valentine’s Cards

February 4, 2013

Folks, it is now the month of love & it’s time to get crafty this Valentine’s Day by making your own card! I go batty for home-made cards! They mean heaps more to me than a card that thousands of other people are getting too. Either way though, a card is a card and I’m a sucker for them. I can not wait until my little girl is older and makes home-made cards for me. I will honestly be that crazy mother that keeps every single card and then pulls them out when she’s 18 and headed off to college. Yup, I sadly know this is true.

Anyways… I decided to go ahead and show you guys some creative Valentine’s cards that other bloggers and/or designers have created. They’re all just pretty lite-hearted, cute and funny. {My fav kind.} Hopefully they bring a little inspiration and get the wheels of creativity turning in your head!

Check them out..

cardss

1. I have eyes only for you via Create Craft Love

eyes

2. We make a nice pear via Vintage Rose Garden

pear

3. Love you via I Heart Nap Time

love

4. You color my world via Paper Crafts Connection

color

5. You’re the only fish in the sea for me via A Beach Cottage

fish

6. The world needs more nerds like you via Supermarket HQ

nerd

7. I’m on in this for your cute butt. Obviously. Happy Valentine’s Day via Etsy

butt

8. Olive You via BHG 

olive

9. I <3 you via Giggles and Squeals

heart

10. I love you this much via Day In My Life

much

11. I want to nail you via {No Source}

nail

12. I’m attracted to U via Craft Juice

u

13. You are cute as a button via Thirty Handmade Days

button

14. I’m keeping you via Etsy

keep

15. I like you via Etsy

like

16. I know we’re not together… via Etsy

together

17. I want to kiss your face so hard via Etsy

kiss

18. I’ve been checking you out via Etsy

checking

19. We were meant for each other. Milk & Cookies. via Etsy

milk

20. I love waking up next to you via Etsy

wake

Some of these crack me up. Well, have fun getting crafty! Please share any cute and/or funny phrases you come up with for your Valentine cards! :)

FOLLOW ME via FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM.

FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
2 Comments / Filed Under: DIY, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Nutella Hot Chocolate

January 11, 2013

Happy Friday!

It’s been a wonderful week! I was so happy I to see one of my old high school besties yesterday and her beautiful 2 month old baby! I’m working on a little baby fever these days and I got my “fix” by holding this sweet little one! She is seriously precious!

:-) :-) :-)

photo(307)

<3 <3 <3

photo(304)

zzzz….

photo(306)

Isn’t she perfect? Ahh… I love her.

Now I’m randomly going to switch to another topic and you’re just going to be cool and go along with it, right?… K, awesome.

Last night Lyla {my daughter} was snoozing away by 7 pm {which never, EVER happens} and hubs was out doing guy stuff sOoOo I had the house all to myself. Yup, allll to my lonesome. At times like these, I love cozying up on the couch with a soft blanket, stalking Pinterest and sippin’ on some hot chocolate. I normally just do the instant hot chocolate but I was feeling domesticated. {Oh-la-la} I snagged up a recipe on Pinterest for some yummy hot chocolate, went to work in the kitchen and wam-bam, within minutes I had the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted! This is worth checking out folks…

{FYI: This recipe is for one serving.}

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Milk
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp Nutella
  • 1 Tbsp Cocoa
  • 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
  • Tiny Pinch of Salt
  • Top it off with Marshmallows &/OR Whipped Cream
How To:
  1. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, whisk all ingredients together until well blended and hot.
  2. Pour in a cup and top with whipped cream and/or marshmallows.
 photo(308)
Easy stuff! I’m telling you, this bad mamma jamma tastes like a little piece of heaven.
Oh and I know it’s probably pretty tempting to judge the indecent amount of marshmallows I piled on. ;-)
Thanks  “The Hungry Housewife” for sharing this recipe and opening up my world to the wonders of Nutella Hot Chocolate.
>>> FOLLOW ME via PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, TWITTER & INSTAGRAM. <<<
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
3 Comments / Filed Under: Delicous Recipes, DIY, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chocolate Mint Body Scrub

December 18, 2012

I was struggling to find a small gift to give out to friends and family for Christmas this year. You know, those people who you just want to let them know they’re noticed and appreciated. I wanted it to be “home-y” and something they could pamper themselves with. Of course I searched all over Pinterest {<–my dearest & closest friend ;-) } trying to find the body scrub recipe that was screaming my name. They all looked great but I had made most of them before so I was wanting something a little different. I decided to go ahead and just combine my own ingredients to make the perfect body scrub and what do you know… I ended up LOVING it! {Can I say loving again? Loving it!} It makes my skin feel a-maz-ingggg and I can’t wait to make a lot more for everyone on my Christmas list!

gtgt

Ingredients Needed:

  • 3 cups white sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup solid coconut oil {add more for a less gritty substance}
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of peppermint oil

How To:

  • Put your coconut oil in a bowl and melt it. {You don’t want boiling hot, just melted.}
  • Mix your sugar and cocoa powder together.

get-attachment.aspx

  • Once it is mixed together well, add in your melted coconut oil and your peppermint oil.

photo(288)

and voila! dunzo! One batch is equivalent to a 16 oz jar.

ghghgh

Q’s & A’s:

  • Why sugar? -It natural exfoliates your skin, helps eliminate blemishes, restores balance to your skin oils but does not clog pores. {via blog.hothousebotanicals.com}
  • Why cocoa powder? -It is an antioxidant. Antioxidants work with the skin to diffuse damage caused by sun damage, pollution and smoking.  Antioxidants also help to protect skin from future damaged. {via annmariekostyk.com}
  • Why coconut oil? -It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins. Coconut oil is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. {via organicfacts.net}
  • Why peppermint oil? -Peppermint oil can help relieve problems with unhealthy skin, acne, soreness, and itching when applied. It also helps tone the skin by getting rid of red blotches, and enlivening dull skin. {via www.ehow.com}

Enjoy! :-)

Follow me via PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK and TWITTER.

FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
7 Comments / Filed Under: Beautiful Skin & Hair, DIY, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DIY Festive Christmas Garland {{using light bulbs}}

December 17, 2012

We just got home from a Christmas concert at our church and I’m officially in the holiday spirit! {Like I haven’t been already ;-) } I’ve basically been in the Christmas spirit for the last six months I feel like. {Maybe a little bit of an exaggeration but not by much. ha} I’m that crazy lady that has had Christmas decor out since a few days before Thanksgiving {poooossibly a week before but were going to act like I didn’t just confess that} and yet I still keep sneaking in a couple more items here and there. Last week I read a fun blog post on how to make Christmas garland via Lemondroplife and had to try it out! It was an easy project and yet uber adorable! Hubs even commented… “Hey, I like that”. Yeah, he has a way with words. I know all of you ladies are jealous of his communication skills right now. ;-) Seriously though, he’s the best  for commenting on the garland as soon as he walked in the door AND like I mentioned before, it’s easy-peasy to make!

photo(287)

Items Needed:

  • Yarn
  • Light Bulbs {I used two different sizes.}
  • Glue Gun
  • Scissors

How To:

  • Wrap the bulbs in yarn, gluing as you go.

photo(285)

 

  • Tie yarn around the top of each bulb, making a knot and linking it to the next bulb.

photo(284)

  • Display! {I put two nails behind the picture frame and hung each end of the garland with the yarn.}

photo(283)

photo(282)

Cute, cute, cute right?! You could totally add a loop on the end of these and hang them as ornaments OR you could toss them in a lovely decorative bowl and display them on your coffee table. There is a TON of possibilities! So much inspiration going on in my mind right now… ;-)

I know you will have a blast making these!

FOLLOW ME via INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and TWITTER. :-)

FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
2 Comments / Filed Under: DIY, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care…

December 15, 2012

Hey everyone! Can you believe Christmas is only 10 days away?!  Eeps… I need to wrap up my Christmas shopping ASAP! I’m not a procrastinator by nature but for some reason every December I turn into one. It’s terrible. lol. I always want to find the PERFECT gift for everyone and I tend to over think it and then put it off. It’s been really fun buying for my 15 month old this year though! She’s sooo easy to gift since everything is fun and exciting right now at this age. I love it! I honestly can’t wait to blow up my camera with pictures on Christmas day of our little one. Last year was her first Christmas but she was only 4 months old so this year she will be able to enjoy it!

Speaking up procrastinating… I thought since December is half way over I should probably share our Christmas mantle before it’s too late. ;-) This is my first year having a mantle to hang the stockings up on so I’ve been having a blast decorating it! Check out our eclectic Christmas fun we have going on…

mantle

garland

books

DSCN6247

angle mantle

clock

books and trees

The next blog post will be a tutorial on the Festive Christmas Garland you see! :)

FOLLOW ME VIA INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and TWITTER!

Click here for the snow globe tutorial.

FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
1 Comment / Filed Under: DIY, Holidays, Organized Home Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We would love to meet YOU! {{Send your holiday card our way!}}

December 3, 2012

Christmas is less than a month away now and that means it’s time to share and receive holiday cards! If you’re anything like me, I look forward to picking out the perfect holiday card each year, sending it off to family and friends to share in the holiday spirit! I don’t believe there is a soul in this world that doesn’t enjoy receiving a Christmas card. I mean seriously, I look forward to waking up each morning in December and running {Uh-hum, more like a fast walk. There’s not much running in this household. ;-) } out to the mail box like a little kid to see who shared their beautiful cards with us and displaying them! It just cozies up the home that much more.

Growing up, we had a small wall area separating our living room from our kitchen and my mother always displayed the holiday cards there. Many times my parents would receive such a large amount of cards though that they wouldn’t be able fit all of them on that small wall space so she would have to get creative on where else to add the cards. As a kiddo I loved looking at each card, especially the glittery ones and the photo cards and I would try to guess who sent what card. {Nerdy, I know… I’ll claim it.} I still have that excitement for holiday cards though which leads me to the whole point of this blog post! All of you tend to know A LOT about me, my family, my newest projects and my passion for DIY’s and yet I have not received the opportunity to meet/know YOU! I would love, love, LOVE if you would send my little family a holiday card this year so we can personally get to know you better and see a glimpse into your wonderful life!! You know a ton about my life and now I want to see and hear about YOUR beautiful, awesome, special family/life! It can be pics of you, your pets, the kiddos, the whole family… honestly feel free to share whatever you would like! I will be displaying all holiday cards from our family and friends, near and far {that includes you!} in a special area in our living room! {Pics to come} I cannot wait a second longer so let’s get to it…

photo(275)

We’re SO excited to meet every single one of you!

photo(277)

Happy Mailing!!

Please Note: Your holiday photo/card may appear along with others in future images on this blog; as part of our home decor and also so I can brag about how awesome all of you are. :)
Inspired by: The House of Smiths
FOLLOW ME VIA INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and TWITTER.
{Crock Pot Monday will resume January 7th!}
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
Leave a Comment / Filed Under: Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , ,

15 Unique Christmas Tree Ideas

December 1, 2012

I know everyone has been in the decorating spirit lately and I’m no exclusion my friends. I am passionate {probably overly passionate} about decorating for ANY event, especially Christmas. Recently we put up our standard Christmas tree. You know, the one that you use every year with the same ornaments every year. Don’t get me wrong, I love our tree but I was in search of something a little more unique to put in some of our other rooms. I was on the hunt and to my surprise there were quite a few creative {very creative} Christmas trees out there! Many of these Christmas trees are great for small spaces such as apartments, dorm rooms or a confined area but really you could add it to any space to give it a little visual flare. I just had to share some of the unique ones I found!

photo(274)

book tree

{Via: Ffffound}

vintage ladder

{Via: Our Vintage Home Love}

chalkboard christmas tree

{Via: The Shelterness}

SONY DSC

{Via: HotPod}

advent

{Via: One Lucky Day}

ornament tree

{Via: Dishfunctionaldesigns}

stick tree

{Via: Apartment Therapy}

cardboard

{Via: El hada de papel}

tree on the wall

{Via: Collected Ideas}

skinny tree

{Via: Sunday In Bed}

sticks

{Via: come-over0}

vintage

{Via: Bloesem}

pallet tree

{Via: My Scandinavian Home}

washi

{Via: All Washi Tape}

aaaand we can’t forget about the kiddos…

felt tree

{Via: Ramble on Cat}

Can’t wait to try some of these out in different rooms in my home!

Have a great weekend!

FOLLOW ME VIA INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and TWITTER.

FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
12 Comments / Filed Under: Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DIY Felt Wreath {{Christmas Wreath}}

November 30, 2012

I have been seeing wreaths popping up alllll over Pinterest lately and I couldn’t resist the urge to make one! I get my kicks off of making a new wreath for each season. ;-) It makes your home more personable and cozy, not to mention you can get exactly what you want when you make it instead of searching all over the store for ages just to end up buying something you’re not totally satisfied with. Who wants to waste money on something that isn’t “you”?! That’s one of the top reasons why I love doing DIY’s! It may be quicker to go buy something off the shelf but a DIY always gets you exactly what you wanted.

We all know Christmas is right around the corner and yet I still have pumpkins outside of my house. {EEPS! No bueno.} It was time to chuck those pumpkins and bring a little Christmas spirit to my outdoors. I decided to start off the outdoor decorating by making a wreath to warm up the front door! Check it out!

–ITEMS NEEDED:

  • Styrofoam Wreath {Buy them here for $4.99}
  • Felt {I used approx. 1 yard}
  • Glue Gun
  • Scissors
  • Measuring Tape
  • Ribbon {optional}
  • Ornament {optional}

–HOW TO:

  1. Cut out strips from your felt. {I cut 1 x 15 in. strips. You can cut them as thick or thin as you would like depending on how thick you want them to be.}
  2. Twist the felt strip to make a flower. {Here is a tutorial on how to make fabric flowers.}
  3. Glue your flowers onto the styrofoam wreath.
  4. Add your ornament. {Mine did not have a thick enough bottom to glue on so I used sewing pins and spray painted the top of them.} 
  5. Add a ribbon and display!

{I love my $1.79 Walmart reindeer!}

I just had to add this last pic of my munchkin in! ;-)

Have fun DIY-ing!! :-D

Follow me via INSTAGRAM, PINTERST, FACEBOOK and TWITTER.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
FacebookTwitterPinterestGoogle+Share
8 Comments / Filed Under: DIY, Holidays Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
«Older Posts