Dec 3, 2010

I went a bit crazy...

 So I went to this warehouse scrapbooking sale yesterday and basically I went crazy! They had so many things, and most of them for like a dollar each. It was freaking awesome. But here is what I bought.
6 things of paper
28 spools of ribbon (most of which is in that white box on the left hand side)
3 pckgs buttons
10 pckgs brads
6 pckgs stickers and rub ons
1 chipboard character pckg
6 pads of ink
1 stamp
1 paper storage box.
= $70!
Yeah I went crazy!!
I bought it all for myself for Christmas. I dragged Jeremy along so he could say he bought them for me for Christmas. What a good sport!

And no, I am not advertising for them, I just had some people ask about it, so I thought I would include address in case you want cheap scrapbook stuff.



Dec 2, 2010

Scrapbooks and more chalkboards.

 I have been so short on scrapbooking supplies lately, but luckily (thanks to my sis in law) I am going to a big warehouse sale soon and getting a ton of stuff!! Hooray. But last night at Ross (I love that store) I found a cute scrapbooking album for cheap, so I put all my pics that I have been working on in it. And I must say my pages have been looking pretty good. Haha, yes I am bragging. I make Jeremy look at these with me like everyday poor guy.
These are all the pics my other sis in law Sam Pierson took, she is great! She took us to Wheeler Farm and took pics of my family and then some of just Jeremy and I.
Glare!

Thats my pink xbox controller in the background, i don't know how to crop on my crappy computer.
So there is my bragging for the day. They aren't top notch but I don't like to spend a ton of money on scrapbooking stuff so I work with what I've got. Also, the pic makes my table look dusty, but its not. I dust it often!

Moving on, I also have been making chalkboards. I told you I didn't buy that can of paint for nothing.

Basically I just bought a frame at all a dollar, painted the glass with chalkboard paint (need 2-3 heavy coats) and then let it dry. Like I said in my last post you need to go over the chalkboard with chalk before you write anything on it, so just put that chalk on its side and roll it all over the board, this kind of like cultures it or something, I dunno, thats just what all the other blogs out thee that use chalkboard paint tell you to do. But I made a lot of these, I am giving them out as christmas presents. So chances are, if you know me, you will be getting one of these, sorry to ruin the surprise. I actually made these a while ago before I made my christmas countdown.

I made one for me to put outside our apt door. I thought it would be cute to have a little msg board out there. The frame was some really ugly gold color (not cute like the one above since I bought them at different times) so I just spraypainted it to be pink, cause I really like pink..
But anyway you can use them for a lot of things, after Christmas I am going to put one in my kitchen and make it a menu board. Basically you can put chalkboard paint on everything, I have seen it on cups, name tags, wood... Martha Stewart even shows how to make your own on her website. You just need sandless grout and paint and you can make it ANY color you want, how cool is that. You can paint your pantry door and write what groceries you need or recipes on it, or you can paint it on the bottom part of your wall for your kids to color on. I have even seen it on fridges, wow. Someday I am going to paint my pantry door with chalkboard paint, I think that is a cute idea, especially since you can make it a color to match your house.

Craftily Counting Down!




So I wanted to make a count down to Christmas, they are so cute and I love counting down the days, but all of the ones I have seen you either have to buy or sew, and I didn't want to do either. So I came up with an idea, why not make a chalkboard countdown to Christmas? Then I could easily just erase and chalk in the dates, easy peasy! So here is my tutorial on how to make this!


First, buy an unfinished wood frame. I bought this one for like three dollars at Hobby Lobby, the picture size is  5'7.
Next you want to paint the edges, the back of the frame and the inside. You can even stain it instead, but I wanted red.



While I was waiting for my paint to dry I worked on my chalkboard.
First you buy chalkboard paint, which I found at Home Depot, I think they have it in spray on as well, but I thought I would be using it a lot so I bought a bucket.
Next just put the paint right on the glass of the frame and paint. Now for some reason the frame I bought didnt come with glass, but that was ok, the back part that holds the picture in was made of like a flimsy wood or something so I just painted that, it worked just as well as the glass, actually better cause it went on smoother and I didn't have to do as many coats to cover up the glass. I did two coats of the chalkboard paint on the wood piece. It dries really fast.


Once your frame is dry you want to get your paper that you are gluing onto the frame. I used Christmas wrapping paper, but you could just use Christmas cardstock or something. I liked the wrapping paper cause it was shiny though. So you want to trace the outside and inside of the frame on the wrapping paper and then cut it out. Next grab your mod podge....
(this is mod podge, its like a glue that is awesome, you can put it right over pictures and stuff, its the best.)
So you get your mod podge and then paint it over your wood frame and then lay your paper/wrapping paper down on the frame and smooth it out. I did it in sections, it was easier that way I thought.
It should look something like this. After it was all on there I let it dry for a sec and then put in my now dry chalkboard piece. Before you write anything on the chalkboard you should go all over it with a piece of chalk. Then wipe it off with a damp cloth and write whatever you want with it.
Isn't it so cute?!
You don't have to do this as a Christmas thing either.
You can just get some cute cardstock, mod podge it on there and put in a cute picture that can stay up all year long. Its super easy and you can use this idea for a lot of things.
But here is the finished project in my kitchen!
Sorry about the glare, stupid camera.


Nov 29, 2010

Here comes Winter

Here are some things that we did in the Fall that I was able to cross off my fall list. 
Game Night

Wheeler Farm

Photo Shoot by Sam Pierson

Fall time is over. I am sad, in Utah we barely get a fall, I swear it goes from Summer to Winter and leaves fall behind. Fall is one of my favorite seasons too, so I hate how we don't get it here. Winter is my least favorite time, I never seem to be warm and I honestly HATE the snow! I love Utah, but man that is one thing I hate about it. I already have like super anxiety any time I am in the car, especially when I am driving, so the snow only amplifies that anxiety like twenty times more. I tend to be a hermit in the winter. But anyway since fall is over I need to update my fall list and see what I did . I guess I finished about half of the list.

Go on a picnic in the park.
Visit Wheeler FarmHave a photo shoot of Jeremy and I at like a park or somewhere.
Host a game nightSee duckies one last time on the trail by our house.
Walk around Day Break Lake
Go to the coppermine
Go to Barnes and Noble and sit in one of their comfy chairs and read
Make one last trip to the mountains
Swing on swings
Finish my last player on Fable
Have a Mario Party Night
Have Pride and Prejudice day
Host a party
See Harry Potter 7
Have Harry Potter nightRead Pride and Prejudice

Well I still have some time to finish my Fable 2 last player, we get the new one for Christmas. And I did plan a Pride and Prejudice day, but I ended up having to cancel it, but I fully intend to have a wonderful day of watching all five hours of the A & E version with my Aunt Bonnie. And once I go to the library I will get the book as well to read. The party I am going to host is going to be a murder mystery party, so I am going to buy a box of the game and host a dinner murder mystery. I have been talking about doing one non-stop, I just don't know if anyone would want to do it... But it will happen soon.
So now that its Winter time for a new list.

Winter Wonderland Activities to do:

Host a Murder Mystery Dinner Party
Go Sledding
Make Toffee
Learn to make Potstickers
Read Pride and Prejudice
Watch Pride and Prejudice
Build a snowman
Make a countdown to Christmas
Finish my scrapbook.


Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition (A&E, 1996)



Also I won another give away in Blogland! I am on a lucky streak lately. But I won a cute wreath from http://www.thehouseofbelonging.com/

Nov 28, 2010

Thanksgiving!

MMM.. I Iove Thanksgiving so much. Turkey is like the best thing ever. My family was also able to come down to visit from New Mexico. So it was great to see my family and eat large quantities of food. On Wednsday night we went to Cafe Rio with my family because they don't have that in New Mexico and my family misses it a lot. Then on Thanksgiving we went to my mother-in law's house for Thanksgiving lunch. We had the whole shebang, and it was super yummy, and then we had a few hours to rest our tummies and then we were off to my aunt's house with all my family for Thanksgiving dinner. Its tradition that we all play hide-and - seek a few hours after Thanksgiving dinner so that was fun! I am not a great hider though :( . On Friday it was my sister's birthday. She turned thirteen, I can't believe it, it was crazy! She now wants purses and makeup and jewelry, which is weird. Then yesterday, Saturday, we hung out with my parents, they took us to lunch and then we visited family with them and then went to Outback Steakhouse with them. My dad works there, so we eat free, and it is delicious. Then we played some games at one of my aunts. It was a great weekend. Last year I made a Thanksgiving dinner for just Jeremy and I the day after Thanksgiving. I haven't had time to yet, but I fully intend to do it this week. I love Thanksgiving leftovers and making turkey sandwiches and stuff, so I have to make a turkey and stuff. I had a lot of fun doing it last year as well.
Also I am way excited cause I follow this other blog called My Give Away Today and it gives something away to a person each day. Well I won on Wednsday so I get a fifty dollar gift card to buy vinyl lettering. Hooray!! Its a cool blog so you all should head on over there. Now I have to decide what to get, that is the hard part. I have a few crafty things that I am going to be making for Christmas so I will post those once they are done. AHH the L on my keyboard is going out or something, I have to push it really hard, I am way annoyed.




www.mygiveawaytoday.com

Nov 18, 2010

HP FOREVER!


IS TIME!!!

Yes it the time we have all been waiting for. The time when the last novel in the best book series ever written comes to the theaters!
Its time for some Harry Potter people!



Ahh don't you just love the great love story, HP and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, it makes me smile.

  The seventh book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,  is undebatably the best book in the series. I am so glad they are making it into two parts, one would just not do it justice! I have been looking forward to this movie for so long. I am going to be so sad when it is all over and no more books or movies are going to be coming out. I wish Jeremy would read it so I could live/read vicariously through him. But alas, my joy may have to come from someday reading the books to my future kiddos, SIGH...
  But anyway the show premiers at 12 am on Friday 11/18, tomorrow. So alot of people will be gearing up to go to the midnight showing tonight/tomorrow morning. But I got tickets for tonight at 8 pm, before the crazed fans at the midnight showings. SUCKERS!!! My work gave me two seats in IMAX along with a twenty dollar gift card and a free popcorn pass. DOUBLE WHAMMY!! Sometimes my work can be a drag, but man they did not fail to impress this time. But anyway I am super super excited! I wish all the rest of you who are seeing it at midnight or sometime this weekend the best.

Nov 1, 2010

Halloween!

We had a blast this Halloween, I am a bit sad it is all over. But at the same time, I am super excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also Jeremy is super busy this semester, he has class every single day and works on top of that, so we both are not liking this semester, so we are looking forward to mid December when it will all be over, next semester he will only have classes three days a week so it will be a lot easier. But this Halloween was fun but we had some crazy mishaps with costume creating and baking! Well mostly me, but I vented to Jeremy so he was involved as well, haha. But anyway for some reason  I really wanted to be Pacman for Halloween, don't ask me why, I haven't ever been a big fan of the game... But for some reason my mind was set. So I was all, well I should be the cute little Pacman ghost, cause they are so super cute. I know you can buy costumes, but they are like forty to fifty bucks and I just don't like spending that much money on something that I can wear only one night, I mean I am the girl that bought her wedding dress (which was fabulous) for $100 bucks. I am cheap. So I thought I could make my ghost costume out of a pillow case. Silly me, pillow cases are not all that long... So the pillow case went to my waist and it looked totally stupid. So I scratched that idea. But I then had an epiphany and decided I would just be the whole game board. I just cut out paper and taped them to us, haha.  Here is how it turned out. I looked so cute Jeremy decided to be it too and totally copied me.

Mr. and Mrs. Pacman

So we went to my cousins' Halloween party on Friday night which was fun. We are supposed to bring a side or dessert for everone. So I wanted to make these really cute cookies that look like owls that I seen on another blog. They ended up looking super cute and were a bit of a pain to make so I was so excited when they turned out cute, but I tasted one and it had like no taste, it was like eating flour. Ick. I totally followed the recipe and everything... So I was irritated about that, I could not bring these tastless cookies to a party, so I was short on time so I thought I would make my mom's recipe of this super duper good popcorn with like marshmallows and stuff in it, but my hot air popper all of a sudden picked that moment to break and it started smoking and it was not good. So I ran to the grocery store and got some brownies. It was not a good couple of days for making things. But at the party everyone loved our costumes so that was a plus.
Tastless Owl Cookies


On Saturday I wanted to pass out candy to all the trick or treaters. In Utah everyone goes trick or treating on Saturday if Halloween lands on a Sunday. So I bought all this candy for them, cause there are a gagillion kids in our apartment complex... Ok, we got a grand total of two kids!! How lame is that. So I gave most of it to our primary kids the next day. But it was ok, on Saturday instead of passing out candy we watched a couple documentaries on Serial killers and then watched the fourth Harry Potter. I made a nice dinner and it was a fun Halloween night.
Jeremy ALWAYS blinks during pictures
See what I mean??!
Ahh the ghost is coming!!