taking a break...perhaps a long one.

i've been sick a lot lately and sadly it's not looking like i'll be better anytime soon. the doc suggested reducing my stress. however that's suppose to happen? so between beinig a mother, putting our house up for sale, finishing the semester with 14 credits, fullfilling church callings and still finding time to spend with my family i've decided to let the creative side of me take a break. so no more sewing all the ideas that linger in my mind, no more recipe searching or food network watching, no more savy grocery shopping, no more room redecorating (all though i still haven't showed you the last three i've done and the one i have to finish....maybe!) and no more thrift store shopping. and you may be asking how can you reduce stress by taking out everything fun? well, for now anyway, every spare moment is spent resting. {sleeping} and so far my body is liking that better than anything i could ever bake. so, months from now when i decide to be domestic again....i'll let you know! untill then, may God bless you and your crafts!

quick fix!

i've been looking for some cute dark wicker chairs for our back porch. the camping chairs are just a sore eye! well everything i see that i like has a $49.99 tag {or higher} and i just don't want to spend $100.00 on patio chairs {i'm cheap...real cheap!} so when i was at the dollar store yesterday i spotted these.

for only $14.99 i liked the chair. hated the color.

so i changed it with some spray paint!

now i just need some cute lil' outdoor pillows and wa-laa!

need photos?

this photographer is giving away 2 8X10 portraits for free! a $40.00 value! check her out for the details!!

i understand...

i bet you've all lost faith in me. not posting for 15 days is a blogging sin, i'm sure! so sorry. i understand if you have found other more dedicated bloggers to occupy your time. perhaps it was a good move. i've been so busy lately. designing...being a mom...visiting family....holidays but my biggest excuse is the absence of my beloved laptop! it got a new hard drive this week and the geek squad had a hard time. i didn't understand anything they were telling me to do. {why can't they just say..."the blue button"? i do know my colors but i have no idea about computer lingo!} needless to say it was a frustrating few weeks with out my buddy! {the laptop, in case you're confused!}

so my creative domesticness has been put on the back burner. if perhaps you haven't lost faith and you want more...ask me questions. i'd be more than happy to share anything your interested in. grocery shopping on a tight budget? decorating before and after pics? home selling tips? how-to make an apron? crafts i do with my one-year old? recipes? what is everyone in the mood for?

thanks for visiting my blog {as boring as it has been} i will try to make it worth your time in the future!

oh and in case you care {like if you're my mom!} I'm in the paper today!! it's not a flattering picture by any means...but check it out! and be sure to read your Cache Magazine that comes out tomorrow for a feature article on our business!!!!

THaNKs, tHanKS, ThAnkS!

i had so much fun on monday. thanks everyone for wishing me luck!

and just a little side note: remember this?? well.....I WON IT!!!! to cool, i know! but if you are ever in the market for a photographer and you live nearby, this girl really is great!

and happy late april fools day! sorry, no jokes.

Wish Me LOTs and LotS of LuCK!

BIG NEWS!!! i work for Staged Elements {a home staging business} and they have selected me to be their spokesperson for their first TV debut! can you believe it? i've only had the nervous pukes for 12 hours now. but i'm super excited! we have some great ideas on color schemes for your home. You'll surely be impressed! we'll be on Studio 5 (channel 5 at 11:00am) on Monday March 30!! don't worry it's a LIVE taping. {excuse me while i pee my pants!} so watch for me, and cheer me on! if you miss it... check out http://www.studio5.ksl.com/ after the taping.

here's a sneak peak...

wish me luck {seriously} folks! im gonna need it!!

CONTEST!!!!

i LOVE this photographer! i'd recommend her to ANYONE! check out her stuff at {kristinwilkersonphotographyblog.blogspot.com} or just click HERE! she's giving away a FREE session including a CD of your photos! check out her blog for the details!!

RECIPES!!

the bread:

4 tablespoons active dry yeast (i use Saf-Instant)

4 cups hot water

6 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons salt

1 cup vegtable oil

10-12 cups of flour (white or wheat)

4 tablespoons gluten

place all ingredients in Bosch mixing bowl. thouroughly knead on speed 3 (4-6 minutes). Let rise in the bowl ten minutes then punch down. Punch down 4 or 5 times. {I took it our of the bowl and let it raise in a greased mixing bowl }


Divide into 3-4 regular laof pans or shape into rounds. Slash tops with sharp knife and brush with egg wash. Let rise until doubled in size.


Bake 30 minutes at 400 *F! enjoy with homemade raspberry jam!




Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: {bosch style}

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup shortening

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats

1 cup chocolate chips

cream the brown sugar, shortening, eggs and vanilla in the mixing bowl, on speed 2 or 3. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Blend well, add in rolled oats and chocolate chips on speed 1.

drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake in 350 *F oven for 8-10 minutes. Cool before removing from pan. Makes 5 dozen!!

Easy Fruit Smoothies:

2 cups fruit juice

2 cups frozen fruit

1/2 can frozen juice concentrate

1 cup fruit flavored yogurt

1-2 cups of ice

1 fresh banana

Place all ingredients in blender. Mix until smooth. and Enjoy!

{Experiment with different flavor combinations such as tropical, berry or melon!}

a true housewife.. at least today!

i really have no idea what came over me today, but i felt like making homemade bread. the last loaf i made i could have used as a door stop. so, i've been avoiding it for quite a while. i decided to give it another shot this afternoon. i used a different recipe and my brand new bosch...and the bread tuned out great. actually, better than great! i made two rounds and two loaves. both are beautifully golden!!

let me know if you want the recipe. it was super easy. and if your not a lover of your bosch yet, you will be!

as if that wasn't enough homemaking for one day...i did more. while i was making bread i realized all my aprons are old and frumpy. i decided i needed a new, trendy, desperate-housewife-like apron. so i rumaged through my material and came up with this. it turned out so cute! i feel so sassy in the kitchen now. sorry, there's no tutorial for it...i made it up as i went, and since i didn't now if it would turn out or not i didn't take pictures. but the final product was too cute to not show you all.

i'm thinking of adding a cute pocket on the front in the red dot material...what do you think??

want to give your brain a rest??...

i would probably consider myself not to be a reader. however, i do love a good read! that may make no sense at all, i don't care. i can't remember the last time i finished a novel, but i love to read articles, stories, and blogs (obviously). so when i came across this blog, it quickly became a favorite! check it out. it's a place where random people from random backgrounds stop in and write a daily journal entry. some are extremely emotional, some make you laugh, some break your heart...but all of them leave you wanting to be better. wanting to live your life better. at least it did for me. check it out.

Tuesday Tips

ever get those nasty blemishes right before a big event. i do. always. so heres a trick...

Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a band-aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.

hoMemAdE ediBlE pLaYdouGh

there are so many recipes for playdough on the web. like this one. or this one. last night i decided to try some....since baby is only 18mo old he tends to eventually try and eat anything placed in front of him, (especially playdough) so this one worked GREAT!!!

i found this recipe here.

1 box name brand white cake mix

1 stick soft but not melted margarine

3 tablespoons water

mix the cake and margarine in a large bowl. add water one teaspoon at a time until it's well mixed. remove dough onto a placemat or wax paper. sprinkle with flour and play! i dyed some peices with regular food coloring for some variety.

it's pretty yummy! you might like it too!

TuTu for You You

my cute little neice turned 3 last week! i honestly can't believe it! she LOVES to dress up as princesses and ballerinas so i got a little creative for her birthday this year and made her a tutu! it was SO easy and turned out SO cute!

i started with sparkle tulle, i bought it at hobby lobby for $5.00 and a 1" elastic for $2.00! and that was all i needed!!! Start by measureing a small waist. i secretly used her's while she was over here playing. cut the elastic and pin it where you will later sew.

then, cut the fabric in stripes. this part is totally up to you. the shorter the fabric the more poofy the tutu, the longer the fabric....well, the longer the tutu! (but remember you'll be folding them in half, so whatever length you want, double it.) my length was around 20'' total, i think!

fold the piece in half, hold the folded part on the bottom edge of the elastic. loop the rest of the strip behind the elastic and through the fold!! see...NO SEWING! you're just tying knots.

i used two different colors and alternated every other one.
whe you're getting close to the end, sew the ends of the elastic together.
the easiest way to do this, sew a square with an "x" through it. it will ensure that your elastic never comes undone. (as you can see the blue thread from my burp rags was still in the sewing machine....oh well!)
trim off the loose strings and finish knotting the rest of your fabric around the elastic. if you pull the knots too tight, the elastic will fold. and you don't want that! but pull them through tight enough to stay! (if that makes any sense!) you can sew along the inside knots, threw the elastic if you're having a hard time with the elastic staying unfolded. i didn't though!

and lastly, see how it works. as you know, i only have a BoY! so he was the tester of my latest product. at first he was a little reluctant....
.....but then he really liked it! he ran all over the house pulling out some of his sweetest dance moves to date!!

all in all, it's a fun, easy craft even the kids could make! it only took about a half hour and a small amount of patience!

the tutu was a HIT at the party! and she loved her new dress up attire!!

simple guest room

don't miss the earlier post today! scroll down!!

oh, how i love decorating. and lately i've had so many opportunities to use my creative juices. i recently turned a "junk room" into a guest bedroom! i'm really happy with the results, but not as happy about my picture taking skills. (oh well)

it started bad. real bad. bright blue carpet (that now lays in my basement so i can work out on it!) and boxes of random old things in every corner. the room hadn't been painted in over a decade and and baseboards were also carpeted in the fabulous blue! i really wish i would have gotten a picture of this, my ramblings don't do it nearly the justice it deserves. but once the room was cleaned out i did get this one. (sorry even the blue carpet is ripped out, but if you'd like a sneak peak...look here.)

once the room was naked i got right to work. this was a project that wanted to be done for under $800.00! pretty small budget for a blank slate, but we (me and him) made it work!

whenever i get these fun projects/jobs my husband somehow gets wound up doing all the hard stuff. (what a sweet guy!) so i got him started with a extra wide baseboard.

then i had him tape off the room and paint it a light blue. i chose a bennet's paint called "smoke."

he did so good at the painting. it's a big plus that he's a perfectionist whenever i put him to work with home-improvments.

to contrast with the blue walls but still keep the room feeling open and airy. (is that a word?) i went with a black metal bed. this was the largest chunk of the budget. the black and white bedding, the side tables and lamps, and the frames on the oppisite wall are all from ikea! (so sorry for the fuzzy pictures! if anyone wants to buy me a new camera...be my guest!)

here's a close up of the side tables!

since all the pictures, i've added this cute clock on the side table.

and hung up a row of "travel" photos in black frames similar to this.

i also added a throw blanket on the bed in a soft ivory to warm it up! so what do you guys think? and if anyone has a suggestion for the small, high windows...do share. please!

A CONTEST!!!!

hey everyone! check out this website and enter the contest for a FREE photo shoot!!!

this is one of her photos. isn't it so cute? you can see her whole gallery here.

Tuesday Tips!

since everyone around me seems to be suffering a nasty winter cold, i've decided to post some helpful remedies as my tuesday tip!

{headache}
drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional "pain releavers". try it!

{stuffed nose}
before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. they'll clear up your stuffed nose!

{sore throat}
just mix 1/4 cup vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. the vinegar kills the bacteria.

i hope you all Get Better Soon!

i wanna sleep here.

yep, definately!

ever wonder how to.....

....hang your pictures perfectly?



step 1: what do you want? lay out the figure on the floor. measure distance between each picture. then sketch the figure, including measurements, on a sheet of paper.

step 2: where do you want it? decide how far down from the ceiling you want the pictures (if your ceiling is slanted measure from the floor up) mark lightly with a pencil. use a tape measure to make the same mark several times across the wall. use a carpenters level to draw a light level pencil line between the marks.

step 3. make it happen! use a tape measure to determine the center of the grouping. hang the center photo first. measure the distance between the pictures and hang pictures on either side of the center the same distance from the middle nail keeping them on the line.

step 4. finishing touches. straighten pictures, remove any fingerprints and smile! you're done!

it may still take an hour, but with these helpful steps you're sure to only make one hole (per picture) in the wall! and that my friend, is a big plus!!

to make a picture grid. use the same techniques for the horizontal lines. once the top row is complete, make a plimb bob by tying a paper clips to both ends of a string. use sticky tack to hang one end of the plumb bob against one of the already hung pictures vertical edge. the bob will swing and eventually hang in perfect vertical alignment. mark the intersection of vertical and horizontal. repeat for each piece.

[information found in DIY winter 2008 magazine]

to you:

HapPY ValEntINeS DaY!

i wish i could send this yummy box of cupcakes to all of you. and if you're wishin' i would too, think of it this way: i'm saving you the calories so you can look smokin' on your valentines date!

don't forget to love the ones you love!

20 minute baby gift! (no joke!)

this is the easiest baby gift you'll ever give! when baby was born someone gave me the cutest burp clothes and although my sewing is as amature as it comes, i have attempted to copy her. {her cute shop will open back up in march!}

i'll share the way I do it!

step 1: pick out some fabric that is both gender specific for the new baby and matches the style of the new mom! iron out all the wrinkles.

step 2: cut the fabric. i usually eyeball measure but this time i really measured and cute 6in x 21in. basically you want long strips about 5-6 inches wide!

step 3: iron each strip again while folding the edges in about 1/4 of an inch. (it's easier if the fabric is layed cute side down, obviously.) when the sides are folded and pressed turn over and lay on the diaper. (gerber prefold cloth diapers. 12 for around$10.00 at walmart!) pin down the thick center of the diaper.
step 4: sew a straight stitch all around the fabric! you can add ribbon, ric rac, or leave plain. just make sure everything is washable.
step 5: fold diapers, stack, and tie with coordinating ribbon!

these diapers make the best burp clothes because they are so absorbant. but now they can be cute too!! get creative. i made some for my baby with funky, fuzzy fabrics and he would fall asleep on my shoulder after burping they were so comfy! and i think new burp clothes make the perfect gift for someone who already has children. every baby should have new burp rags not hand-me-downs, don't ya think? happy sewing!!

i'm coming clean.

the most deceptive thing about me, is my cleaning. (i really should not admit that!) i am a surface cleaning. you don't know what a surface cleaner is? well everything visible is clean. i make sure that walls, baseboards, windows, furniture, counters, and all other visible surfaces are clean. but open a closet of drawer and you're sure to have something jump out at you. i have decided to change this about myself. i'm sick of the clutter behind closed does. the goal: get organized! i got motivated to kickstart from this great blog. but since it's a little overwhelming i started small.

the before

the after

it's okay to start clapping!

what should i declutter next? what are your decluttering tips?