Trendy Treehouse

Pinterest Challenge - DIY Ruler Growth Chart

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

Remember last week I mentioned a Pinterest Challenge Party? Well I thought I would launch it today! I thought it would be fun to make some of my favorite {PINS}. I also thought that maybe you might want to link up your {PIN} projects.
Don't forget to grab a button HERE or below! Share the fun too! It would be great to see all those Pinterest inspired projects recreated. Every Friday...stop by for the "Pinterest Party Challenge"
You can link up posts related to a Pinterest inspired tutorial or project.

| Linky Party Rules |

Follow Trendy Treehouse via Google Friend Connect
Link up only posts related to this challenge. Not your home page
VERY IMPORTANT...Include a link to the original PIN. (where you got your inspiration) They deserve credit for their hard work too!
Please DO NOT link up none Pinterest related posts, shops or giveaways.
Share the i took the {PINTEREST} challenge button somewhere on your blog or in your post.
Visit at least 3 other link ups and leave meaningful comments.
Come back next week to see if your link has been featured and to share another fun Pin Inspired Project

Check out my Tutorial Below the Linky Party

This week I made the Ruler Growth Chart.

I found my inspiration HERE.

Can't wait to see your links. Have fun!

All unrelated links will be deleted. Thanks for following the rules.

DIY Ruler Growth Chart

Remember I got my inspiration HERE.First I went to my local home improvement store to pick up some cedar fence boards. I chose the 6 foot boards. They had dog ears on them but they were happy to cut them off for me at the store. I took them home and planned on sanding them to make them smoother. Luckily hubby is a handy man. He had a planer and offered to run them through there first. They came out so good I didn't have to sand then at all.. I suggest you asking the home improvement store to plane them for you. If they can. If not, sanding is the way to go. I recommend a power sander. It will save your arms the pain. LOLI stained mine all different colors. Staining cedar is a little tricky. I picked a few colors and my favorite was the CHERRY stain. It is the one I have pictured in most of my pic. Below is a pic of all three colors.

Next I measured and marked my board. I used my fabric measuring tape by taping it to the board so it would stay in place. I started at the top of the board at 77" We have tall people in our family and I wanted it to be at least 6 foot 5 inches tall. I took 6 x 12 + 5 to get my 6'5 measurements. By doing this you will be able to hang it on the wall. Just make sure you measure the wall too so you get the correct height.

Measure and mark each foot. Then each half foot. I added more lines in there too keeping them equally apart.

I printed out some numbers and different length lines. I cut them out to use as a type of stencil. I just taped the numbers directly on the board. The lines were easy, I was able to just hold them while I traced them. To trace, I used a black sharpie.

This is how the board looks after I traced them all out. You could leave it like this. (just make sure you erase those pencil markings) It looks cool this way too. But I chose to paint mine.

I used black acrylic paint to fill in my traced numbers and lines. It didn't take long. Just under an hour to complete. Minus stopping to make the kids some cinnamon rolls. LOL They were yummy looking. I didn't eat one. :( Go WILLPOWER! yeah me! Did you see my son in the picture? ;) haha!

Finally done! Now just add a clear coat finish to protect the wood and paint. Then hang, measure and enjoy. All your family and friends will want one too! Here is the final look. This one pictured is a gift. I didn't hang it on the wall for my final pic. Sorry. ;0) But didn't it turn out great! I think so.

Have you made one of these yet? How did you make yours? Leave a link in the comments so I can check it out. Or link it up in the party above.

Scream Pillow - A Tutorial

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

I was talking with a friend about our daughters getting older. The subject of emotions came up and how they can get overly emotional at times. My friend suggested that I make a "Scream Pillow". She had made one for her daughter when she was becoming a lil lady. ;-) She would tell her daughter to go scream it out in her pillow. My daughter isn't quite ready to scream mad into her pillow just yet, she is just a crier. :-( She gets sad quickly when she doesn't like what she hears or realizes she might be in trouble for doing something. LOL Hormones! uuuggghh. Being a girl growing up can be so frustrating. So I finished and wanted to share it with you.

First I wanted to share that I used the printer method for my print.

You want to pick up some Bubble Jet Set 2000 and treat your fabric before you print on it. Follow the directions on the bottle...but just so you know...You will soak your fabric in the Bubble Jet Set 2000. Set aside and let it dry. Next get out your freezer paper and iron your dried fabric on. Cut to fit your printer. TIP...the freezer paper helps keep the fabric in place while printing. Otherwise it would not work at all!

Next I designed my print in photoshop and simply printed it out on my freezer paper fabric! ;-)

Now it's time to make it into a pillow. ;-)

You will need...

Your 8x10 Print

2 - Strips of fabric for the top and bottom (3x16 each)

2 - Strips for the side (3x8 each)

For the back - 12 1/4 x 15 1/2

These are the sizes I used for mine, you can of course make a smaller one. And before you get started, remember to remove the freezer paper. You only needed that to help move the fabric through the printer.

Sew on the sides first and iron flat.

Next sew on the top and bottom strips. Again, iron flat.

Place this on the back fabric. Right sides in.

Pin together. Leave an opening at the bottom for stuffing. Cut a slit on either side of your opening.

Sew all around leaving the opening. Turn right side out and iron flat.

All that's left to do is stuff it and stitch together the bottom. I love how it turned out. My daughter came home and saw it and ran over for a big kiss and a thank you! ;-) Yeah! She loved it! And I think it looks pretty darn cute on her bed too!

BTW...that was my dolly when I was a girl. She sat on my bed for many years. Now she gets passed around different parts of the house. I love her!

Tip..when washing. Wash on the hand wash or delicate cycle. Air dry!

If you are interested in making one of these, below is the print I used. Feel free to save it for personal use only. Thanks!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Tell me what you think below!

I love all your comments.

Create and Share | Features too!

2012-01-24T20:00:00.001-08:00

Please grab the Create and Share Button.

And share it in your post or on your blog. Thanks!

Come by every Wednesday to share your "Creative Side" You can link up anything crafty, recipes, room decor, party ideas, gift ideas, kid crafts, science projects, game ideas, ect. You get the idea.

| Linky Party Rules |

Follow Trendy Treehouse via Google Friend Connect
Link up only to the post. Not your home page.
Please Do Not link up shops or giveaways.
Share the Create and Share Button somewhere on your blog or in your post. OR..NEW...Create a Backlink to Trendy Treehouse.
Visit at least 3 other link ups and leave meaningful comments.
Come back next week to see if your link has been featured.

If you see your link below in our features, grab a featured button HERE
| Here are few of my favorites from last week |Click on photos below to read more

T-Shirt Scarf - Part 1

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Have you seen all those adorable t-shirt scarves out there? I have seen them all over and until I saw one in person, I never really thought of making one. I thought they were cute, but it just wasn't top of my list.

Well, my moms neighbor made the cutest one. It was teal colors with cream colored flowers pinned on for extra cuteness! I went home that night and grabbed some t-shirts.

(sorry for the wrinkles, they were in a bin of saved shirts. No sense in ironing when I'm cutting them up.)

In this post I will share how I made my first one. I have a couple more ways to make some that turned out amazing too. So I will be posting them too. Just not today. So check back soon for the others. I will leave links to all the scarves in each post so you can easily find them all.

Anyway....on to the first scarf. With this one, I did use my sewing machine. I know that there is a way to make one with out it and I did. So don't worry, it's coming. If you don't have a sewing machine, you can alway hand stitch this version.

First start my cutting the shirt from armpit to armpit. Then cut strips on the bottom half. I cut mine just under 1" but you can just judge it as you go. You don't have to measure really.

Set aside the top half of the shirt for now. Now take each strip and stretch it out. Not too tight, just enough to make the t-shirt curl a bit.

So I don't forget to tell you....sometimes shirts have tags in the seams. Make sure you cut that out. you don't want it sticking out when you wear your scarf. LOL That would just be silly.

Next, gather one end of the strips (seam together). Take them over to your sewing machine and give it a quick stitch. I liked doing this because it is not going to shift. Those strips are in place.

Remember the top of the shirt? Grab it and turn it over. Cut a rectangle piece to sew and help cover up where you just sewed the scarf together. I cut my piece larger because I'm just going to trim it. So keep that in mind.

Sew your rectangle inside out!

Turn it right side out and place it around the scarf and sew in place.

Trim off the excess.

Turn this right side out and hide that seam. Now you are done! A clean finish for your scarf.

Add a cute pin or flower to finish it off. You can wear it long or double it up too!

I'll be back again next week with another scarf. Don't forget to come see!

Come by this Friday for a fun party. I am hosting a

{Pinterest} Challenge Party

All those wonderful pins that we keep tucked away are coming out. I have so many loves on Pinterest so I am challenging myself to completing some of them. I will be sharing a favorite Pinterest project every Friday. Something I just have been wanting to make.

I will also be hosting the {Pinterest} Challenge Party for you! You will be able to link up your Pinterest Projects. Just please remember to give credit to where you got the idea with a link and image of the original pin.

All link ups that don't qualify will be deleted.

Thanks and hope you come by to link up. Please share this idea with friends. I will be sharing a Party Button this Friday!

Cookie Dough Bites Factory -App Review

2012-01-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Do you have an iPad, iPhone, Use iTunes?

I was asked to review a fun new app called Cookie Dough Bites Factory. It's a FREE app available in iTunes.

I laughed when I got the email because my daughters had just asked me two days before if they could download it. I have it set up to automatically download new apps on my phone. So it popped up on my phone too but I hadn't tried it yet. Once I read my review request, I checked it out more. It is so Fun! I loved it and so did my kids.

In this app you get to make fun candies.

I started off by picking Factory One. In there you pick the Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix. You head over to the ingredients area.

Mix all the ingredients for your CDB (Cookie Dough Bites). Be careful not to overfill the bins or you will lose your precious batter. LOL

Next it shows you how much dough you wasted and how much you completed. It loads the dough crates onto a pallet. Fun!

Then you head over to the candy coating area. This is the exciting part. You get to spray the CDB's with chocolate. But be sure to spray them quickly before they fall through the bin. Very exciting!

Again, you visit the Pallet room seeing your progress. I didn't waste one CDB. Go ME!

Now it's time to discard those bad bites on the conveyor belt that don't quite meet standards. ;0) Be quick and remember to place them in the correct place. There are uncoated and rejects. LOL The kids love it and feel like they are little workers. Oh and they move fast, well not too fast, but its exciting!

One more stop in the pallet dock. I completed 84 successful CDB's. Yeah! I lost a few. :( Can you beat my score? I dare you. HA! HA! I want to beat my score. I know I can do better. See, its addicting. You and the kiddos will have fun with this!

Lastly, your progress for the round and given stars. I got 8 out of 10 stars. Not bad for a first time player. Eh?

So, yes there are other factories! 3 to be exact!

In this FREE version (with ads) you are able to choose from the CDB's and from Cupcake Bites in Factory Two. Mmmm. They are cute sprinkle cupcake bites. It plays the same way as in Factory One, just with different ingredients. It also is a little more advanced. Not much more but I noticed that I spilled a little more of my ingredients in this one. The bins have lids and works with RED lights and GREEN lights. If you go too long, the lid will close and your ingredients will spill on the floor. :( I lost too much the first time and had to start over. But hey! Makes me better at it. A good challenge!

Be sure to check out Headquarters for your progress. It shows you what you wasted and what you completed. As well as how many stars you earned.

There is an Ad FREE version available. Just enter the Warehouse. There you can purchase new flavors, upgraded tools for your stations, and a fun sprinkle pack. Each of them have different prices. But if you are interested in everything, you can get it all too for one price. Since this is a new game, the price is a little higher than normal. From what I understand it is an introductory upgrade price and will eventually be lowered. So keep a look out!

My thoughts....I think the cost is worth it now too though. If you think about it, apps are the cheapest games out there. My hubby and I chose iPods for our kids over other products for that reason. We thought, "WOW, cheap games that can be downloaded on more than one device or buy one expensive game that can only be used on one device?" Not to mention that if it gets ruined, you have to buy another. So apps are our choice for fun games for the kids. If they delete it, we can always reload it! AWESOME! And there are so many FREE and cheap apps to choose from. That's our thought about that anyway! ;o)

So if you find my review interesting, let me know in comments below.

Please and thank you!

And please check out all of Cookie Dough Factories links too!

Let them know what you think of their fun new app!

For more information regarding Cookie Dough Bites® and Cookie Dough Bites® Factory visit:

http://sunstormgames.com

www.cookiedoughbites.com

www.facebook.com/cookiedoughbites

www.facebook.com/pages/Sunstorm-Interactive/156245999242

www.cdbfactory.com

FYI...

Cookie Dough Bites® Factory Hits #1 Game for Kids on iTunes in just 9 Days

Very impressive!

Want to buy some of these delicious bites? Visit HERE or on the picture below to see where they are available.

Something else I found interesting...They offer a fundraising program. Wouldn't that be great for your school? I am going to look into this more for my kids school. This would be a fun fundraiser and I think very profitable too! To learn more visit HERE or click on the photo below.

Thank you to Cookie Dough Bites Factory and Promoting Group for requesting a review. This was fun.

The featured product {s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. Trendy Treehouse Disclaimer/Terms of use.

An Apology and a fun download I found

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

First off, I wanted to apologize for being so absent lately. I've been so busy. I feel so guilty for not being here. :(

Today I am sitting down with my lil Cass. She was up all night sick. Poor thing. Too many sour gummy's at the Basketball game I guess. LOL I am so glad to be able to spend the day with her but sorry for the reason. She is feeling much better now. Just so exhausted from being up every hour last night. Plus I didn't want to send her to school not knowing if she could keep anything down. :( That would be bad. So we tried a little piece of dried toast this morning and it hurt her tummy. Long story short, she is sitting here with me watching Sponge Bob and playing games on my iPad as I write this post. LOL

My busy life has gotten in the way of my crafting lately. I have been making things but have been lazy on taking pictures. So I will try to catch up. We have been busy with basketball, many school events and meetings. We even signed up all 4 kids for baseball. The two lil girls will be on the same team. Yeah! That will be so fun for them. ChaCha will be on the Minor girls team and CJ is on Major Boys again this year. Next year he bumps up to Juniors. WHOA! My kids are growing so fast. Hubby has been busy working very long hours, so every precious moment is spent with us watching movies, playing games, shooting hoops, hanging out or bike riding. I don't see him slowing down anytime soon. We are so fortunate and thankful for the work provided and can't complain.

So today...I thought I would share a really cool downloadable goodie I found. You may have seen it. It was featured in Better Homes and Gardens "do it yourself" magazine.

It's another cool way to do a growth chart. Cathe from Just Something I Made came up with this marvelous idea. She scanned one of her vintage measuring tapes for you to print out. It's life size and awesome!

Visit HERE to download yours. She even has and update at the bottom of the post offering a metric version. Cool! Thanks Cathe for the great download! Be sure to check out all her awesome DIY projects HERE too! She is one, pretty amazing and creative woman! I was lucky to have found her site!

Hope you enjoy my fun lil find!

One more quick thing...I was playing with a new idea. Pinterest is another fabulous site that I often use. I take it on the go with me all the time on my iPhone. LOL I am sure many of you do too!

So here's my thought...what do you think of having a Pinterest Challenge Party? Putting our Pins in motion. LOL I find so many ideas on there that I want to do and haven't. I though if I did it here, I would accomplish more of them. ;o) I thought of either posting a specific pin of mine that we could all make, then link up. That way we can see all the different versions from that one Pin. Or...each week you can link up your own Pinterest Pin that you loved and made yourself. I think it would be a fun way for us to make our favorite pins rather than just dreaming about making them. Ha!Ha! The idea would be to have you post a "How you made your favorite pin" Directions how you made your pin, including photos of yours and the pic of the original pinned inspiration (include their link). Then link it up here at a party to share with others.

What do you think? Would that be fun?

I can't wait to here what you think! Leave a comment below to let me know. Also, please share this idea with others. Have them come here for a comment too. I would love to see how many would like to be involved in a Pinterest Challenge Party!

I will be leaving a post on my Facebook page too. So you can comment there as well! I so need to be on there more too! LOL

Thanks All! Have a Perfect Day and a FUN weekend too!

Creative Share Blog Hop & Features too!

2012-01-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

Please grab the Create and Share Button.

And share it in your post or on your blog. Thanks!

Follow Trendy Treehouse via Google Friend Connect
Link up only to the post. Not your home page.
Please Do Not link up shops or giveaways.
Share the Create and Share Button somewhere on your blog or in your post. OR..NEW...Create a Backlink to Trendy Treehouse.
Visit at least 3 other link ups and leave meaningful comments.
Come back next week to see if your link has been featured.

If you see your link below in our features, grab a featured button HERE
| Here are few of my favorites from last week |Click on photos below to read more

Easy Baked Apples - A Guest Post

2012-01-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hello, Trendy Treehouse readers!

My name is Rebekah, and I'm from Potholes and Pantyhose. I am so honored that Tara asked me to be a guest here today. She's pretty awesome, but I realize you guys know that already.

On my blog Potholes and Pantyhose, I share and photograph detailed tutorials of my DIY Projects, Recipes, Photography Tips and Remodeling Endeavors.

And today, I wanted to offer a yummy dessert-Easy Baked Apples-that can be made at the last minute and with ingredients you probably already have on hand.

These Easy Baked Apples are one of my favorite go-to's when last minute guests arrive. To really go over the top, add a little french vanilla ice cream and be crowned dessert queen of the year.

Here's what you'll need to make these Easy Baked Apples:

4-6 Jonathan Apples

6 TBS butter-room temperature

1/4 C Raisins

1/4 C finely chopped Walnuts or Pecans

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Lemon juice (only needed if you are making these ahead and cooking them later, as I did)

1 TBS sugar (if desired to make the dessert a little sweeter, but can be left out)

By using either an apple corer or a paring knife, remove the center of the apple, including all seeds.

Take a moment to make a face with your cored apples.

Place your apples in a sprayed/greased microwavable baking dish.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the 6 TBS room temperature butter to the 1/4 C of raisins.

Add the 1/4 Walnuts or Pecans.

Next, add the 1/4 tsp of Nutmeg.

And then add the 1/2 tsp of Cinnamon.

If you are making this dessert hours ahead of when you might want to actually consume it, add the 1 tsp of lemon juice. The lemon juice allows the apples to maintain their color and crispness, but gives you the option of cooking the apples several hours or even a day later.

If you enjoy sweeter desserts, add 1 TBS sugar to the bowl. I opted not to do this, allowing the ice cream to sweeten the deal.

Mix everything together using a fork.

Using a baby spoon or a knife, fill the apples completely full and a little overflowing with the mixture.

Tightly saran wrap the top of your baking dish. (If cooking the apples later, place them in the fridge until you are ready.)

Microwave for about 6 minutes, or until the apple skin is pliable and easily cut with a butter knife.

Let the apples cool slightly for 1-2 minutes, leaving the saran wrap on the baking dish.

Transfer to your serving plate and liberally spoon the excess juices over the apples (and over the ice cream, if desired). Serve the apples whole or sliced up for easy eating.

Enjoy!

Stop by Potholes and Pantyhose for other recipe, craft, and remodeling ideas. I am so looking forward to meeting you all. And, thanks again, Tara for letting me be a guest here today. It's been a real hoot!

Love-Rebekah

2012-01-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

Please grab the Create and Share Button.

And share it in your post or on your blog. Thanks!

Follow Trendy Treehouse via Google Friend Connect
Link up only to the post. Not your home page.
Please Do Not link up shops or giveaways.
Share the Create and Share Button somewhere on your blog or in your post. OR..NEW...Create a Backlink to Trendy Treehouse.
Visit at least 3 other link ups and leave meaningful comments.
Come back next week to see if your link has been featured.

If you see your link below in our features, grab a featured button HERE
| Here are few of my favorites from last week |Click on photos below to read more

I'm Back

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm finally back. Seems like its been a while! Like 3 weeks. Right? I know, I know! I was enjoying my vacation. We had a lot of fun!

Our kids got out of school early this year. It was nice because I had one full week to prepare for the holidays without any school events! Well minus Basketball practice for my son! Yep! He made the team this year! YEAH! So proud of him.

So on to our vacation...I spent that week sewing and packing. We planned on surprising the kids with a trip to DISNEYLAND for Christmas. Because of the cost of tickets and food, I was making a lot of the kids gifts this year. The older kids all got some Disney patchwork blankets when they were younger and I wanted to make one for my youngest. I had saved all the material from making the last ones. So it was very easy to make it. Thankfully most of the material was already cut! Woo! Hoo! Got that done! Then I made each of the girls a cute lil owl pillow! They turned out so, so cute! Because my son is 12, I decided not to make him a cute, cuddly pillow and bought him something. ha!ha! I also made a cute puppy blanket and pillow for our employees new baby. I love how it turned out!

By the way, I will be sharing pictures below. Don't worry!

We made our family members ornaments this year for Christmas. They were snowmen made from white tennis balls. Very cool! We made a few more things for them too. For Daddy this year, the kids made a really cool shirt. We saw it on Pinterest. I will try and find the link to it sorry. But they drew on the back of a shirt. Roads, buildings and personal touches. On the front it said, "My Favorite Shirt". They also each picked out 1 car to go with it. They love drawing on daddy's back with body crayons and thought this would be fun too! My hubby and kiddos are so sweet too! They went to our jewelry store and picked out charms for a Pandora Bracelet for me! I love it! They picked out an elephant, chick, good luck (my oldest daughter picked this out. She is always so lucky. Finding four leaf clovers and money all the time) an airplane, orange jeweled flowers, one with two hearts from hubby and while we were in Disneyland, a Mickey Mouse charm. I was very happy.

So here is how we surprised the kids... Hubby is always on Craig's List! We told the kids that we had to head south to look at truck dad found on Craig's List. They wanted to know why we were taking our Christmas stuff. We just said that we were going to celebrate with family down there and needed to bring stuff. They bought it! YEAH! So we left and drove as far as we could. It's about 9-10 hours depending on stops. We made it more than half way before we stopped at a hotel. The next morning, we went to the complimentary breakfast. The kids were still clueless. We then told them, that we were going to let them open one gift before we left. They were excited. I had wrapped up their Disney blankets and Disney ID's. We knew that when we left the hotel, we were going straight to Disneyland. The kids couldn't wait to look at the truck and leave. Ha! Ha! So we went back to the room, and videoed them opening their gifts. They were very quiet! Then when they realized it was all Disney, they screamed a little. ;0) We told them we were going right now to Disneyland! My youngest, so cute, asked "After we look at the truck?" LOL "No sweetie, we tricked you! Did it work?" we said. They all said "YEAH!" We succeeded in keeping the secret. We wanted to drive further, but we knew the older kids would know where we were going by landmarks, since we have been to Disneyland before.

Disneyland was awesome! We spent 5 days there. Including Christmas Day! It was so busy, but worth it! I can't say we will go back on Christmas day again, but like someone said, we were able to mark that off our bucket list. Check! I will share a few photos below of our trip. But I have to say, one of their favorite parts was going to the Animation Academy over in California Adventure. We went there 5 times and it was the first thing they wanted to share when they got to school. They all love drawing and I was quite proud of our artistic family!

The rest of our family vacation was spent relaxing and resting from the long trip. Kids are all back in school and the routine is back on. Kind of nice. I missed the routine!

Here are a few pics

Our Snowman Ornaments...white tennis ball, baby sock, and permanent markers.

Disney Blanket...this is the disney blanket I made for my youngest! Sorry it's not the best pic!

Back of the blanket

each of the kids had mostly the same fabric, but all different designs.

Front of the blanket

I embroidered her name and added the cute lace border.

Daddy's Favorite shirt

It was late when we finished and I snapped this with my cell.

One of the owls before it was finished. There is another pic below of them holding them.

We printed out and framed these for family.

Here is a pic of a lighted Christmas Tree we made. If you are interested in how I made this, just send me a quick email. I'd be happy to share. I do have better pictures and I added a bit more to this too!

The puppy pillow and blanket I made for our employees baby.

...Christmas Morning...

Very bad quality photo. Sorry. But it shows their smiling faces. That's all that matters. Right? LOL

When we surprised them with Disneyland

With their blankets and Disney ID's.

A few pics from Disneyland

Happy New Year Everyone! I can't wait to see what this year brings.

Thanks to everyone who sent us Holiday wishes via the blog, text and email! Hope your vacations were as fun as ours. What did you do?

Happy Holidays

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

We wanted to wish you all a Happy Holiday Season!

Jamie and I will be spending the holidays with our families and will be back in January with a bunch of new posts. Until then, please enjoy browsing around.

Here's Tara's Christmas Card! ;0)

Heard on the Playground Review

2011-12-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Heard on the Playground is a really fun site where you can share stories. Stories of what kids say!! I have read so many cute stories over there from grandparents, parents, kids and people who have overheard stories too! So fun!

I even shared a story a while back from my 5 year old at the time. She is now 7. ;0)

...Our Shared Story...

{This is a recent conversation I overheard between my son and daughter} "Why were you the first born?" my daughter asked. "Because God wanted a boy first in our family, then a girl, girl and another girl." my son responded. "Well that's not right...it's always supposed to be ladies first!" my daughter protested.

Caidee 5 - California

Isn't that cute? I'm kinda partial! Well Andrea, the creator of Heard on the Playground site thought is was cute too! She used it as one of her favorites in the book she published! YEAH! We were so excited to find out!

The book is available now on Amazon! You can also find it through Andrea's site, Heard on the Playground! Andrea was kind enough to send us a copy! Thank you! Thank you! We will treasure it!

Don't forget to stop by and share a story at Heard on the Playground! You might see it in the second book. Which I am sure there will be one. Kids never fail when it comes to finding funny things to say! ;0)

This book would make a perfect gift for Grandparents, Parents, Teachers and Kids! Get yours ordered TODAY!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

Happy New Year!!

I pray that your Christmas celebration is filled with Jesus! I pray that you are aware of the blessings around you. I pray that you take time to capture the moments and memories that make up your family and loved ones. I pray that you experience Christmas through the eyes of a child with all the wonder and excitiment that it brings. I pray that you cherish every moment you have with your loved ones. I pray that you are blessed in new and exciting ways.

I had asked my Aunt if she would help us take some photos of our family after our Thanksgiving feast so we would have a current photo for our Christmas card. I also wanted to make sure to be in some photos with my kids. It was a joint effort between my aunt, Greg and myself and I think we did pretty good. Yeah, I don't really enjoy being photographed and I'd like to lose some weight before I'm photographed but my kids won't be saying that when they look back as these photos ("man, I wish mom would have lost 10 pounds before we took those pictures"). They will be saying things like, "remember when we ran around in the backyard and remember how Micah didn't want his picture taken. And remember how dad threw us in the air. Yeah, those were good times." So, here's to capturing good memories, picture perfect or not. And if you have to photoshop a blemish or two I give you permission!! We can put our best face forward right ;)

Here's a "real life" shot for you!

I'll see you back here in 2012! If you'd care to follow our Christmas adventures and just life in general join me on my family/photography blog!! Can't wait to see you there, and let me know you stopped by! And don't forget my shop is open if you need any last minute gifts!!!

Gifts for yourself

2011-12-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

We all know that Christmas is a time of giving. A time when we remember the greatest gift ever given, the gift of Jesus in flesh. The gift of salvation brought to life. We give gifts because we've already received the greatest gift ever to be given. We give gifts to everyone in our lives, kids, parents, teachers, postal workers, but is it wrong to give a gift to yourself? I don't think so. So often we as mothers give give and give some more that sometimes it's nice and actually IMPORTANT to give a little to ourselves.

Maybe your gift to yourself this year will be laying off the mommy guilt. Maybe you'll give yourself permission to fail, to not be the "perfect" wife, mom, etc because we all know that person doesn't exist. Maybe you'll give yourself 10 extra minutes of peace and quiet by setting the alarm. Maybe you're going to give yourself energy by exercising a little more regularly. Maybe you're going to give yourself time by setting a timer for "extra" things like tv shows or computer time so you don't get sucked ALL the way in, but then you'll have the time to do the things you want and need to do. Maybe you'll give yourself time to craft things for YOU! I plan on doing ALL of these things.

Maybe your gift to yourself will be more a material object. Those are nice too. My husband and I do the St. Nicholas thing with our kids (but not Santa) since he was a real man who gave to the poor and needy. But who fills my stocking...me! So, this year I didn't give myself anything. But that's becuse I didn't have any small gift that I really wanted...and I am still working on gifts for others so I haven't gotten around to my own crafting yet...but I will. I will make myself some pajama pants and I will make myself a clothespin people wall hanging.

What are you going to give to yourself?

If you're still looking for the perfect gift some someone on your list come on over to my etsy store and see what I've got that might help you check off another name!

Create and Share | Features too!

2011-12-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

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DIY Glitter Nail Polish

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

So today I have a very fun and quick project. DIY Glitter Nail Polish! It is so easy, the kids can do it! But....if you need stocking stuffers, you might want to make these yourself. Just make sure you mail them to the North Pole for Santa to deliver in time for Christmas! ;-)

What you will need...

Clear Nail Polish

Glitter (variety of colors)

Sling shot balls

Funnel

So my these colors are my daughter's favorites!! I made these per request. ;o)

First head over to the dollar store and pick up some clear nail polish. The dollar store is the only place you will find them that cheap. They even have glitter. They might not have a huge variety of glitter, but you can always pick some more up at a craft store. It will just cost a little more. I had glitter already from another project. I did get mine a Michaels. The Tulip brand. You get a lot and it goes far. You will want to get the sling shot balls because they are heavy enough to shake around the glitter. I tried BB's and they were way too light. If you don't have a funnel, you can make one from paper or even use an envelope.

Once you have all your supplies....just add your choice of glitter colors to the clear nail polish. Add the sling shot ball and shake. That's it!

If you want more glitter, just add more and shake. If you are having trouble finding the correct weighted ball to shake, you can always stir the glitter in with a toothpick. It will settle after sitting, so you will need to stir again next time you use it.

Our Glitter Nail Polish Colors (in the pic above)

I had pink and blue glitter from some shirts I made. My oldest loves blue and my youngest loves pink. So that was easy. My middle daughter loves purple so we just mixed the blue and pink together to make purple. Easy Peasy!

Just follow your basic color changing chart with your glitter to come up with your favorite colors.

When you paint them on, they will have pretty Glittery Nails!

~ Decorate your bottles ~

Want to add some cuteness to your Nail Polish Bottles? Let the kids draw on them with permanent markers or add some cute stickers. You can even get some puffy paint and make some cute flowers, hearts, ect. on them!

Hope your day is amazing day!

Gifts for Self/Wife

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is the last week of our 12 Weeks of Christmas! I hope you enjoyed what we shared! I know, we loved sharing gift ideas with you!!!

FYI...after this week Jamie and I will be taking family leave! We are going to share the holidays and New Year with our Families! I'm sure you understand how busy the holidays can be and we need time to make all our fun DIY gifts for everyone!

I will occasionally pop in for a post or two and will keep the Craft Share on Wednesdays going. So don't forget to link up your posts every Wednesday!

READ ME...I have a really cool Christmas Project that I will be posting, hopefully Friday. My Papa (RIP, I love you and miss you so much!) made one years ago and my Grandma (love her so much) gave me the template. YEAH! I know you are going to love it and have to have it!!! So stay tuned....

This week for our 12 Weeks of Christmas Gifts....

The gift is for Self/Wife!

Here's a pic of me with the kiddos!

Visit HERE to see past and upcoming Gift ideas.

And please visit HERE to view the gifts we have already posted!

Don't forget to grab the Christmas Gifts Button in the sidebar!!!

For Self/Wife...

Blessings Jar | Count your blessing by adding them one at a time in this jar! Then read them with your family each Christmas. We got this from our kids last year and I can't wait to read through some of the blessings on Christmas Day!

Any mom would love to see the blessings their family has each year. I thought it would be fun to share this gift with you today.

Plus, its very easy to make. Just grab a cool jar, some little notecards, ribbons, gift tags, stickers and a pen. You can make the jar with fun holiday colors or neutral to keep out year round. A great gift to give and receive!

Chore Jars....another fun idea for a jar would be a kids chore jar. My kids were asking about sharing chores (well they were really fighting over who has to do what, lol) so I thought it would be fun to make it random. Have each child write down all their chores (on separate pieces of paper and throw them in the jar. Every day they pull one and complete it! As a reward for completing the task, with NO COMPLAINING, let them choose something from a prize jar. If your kids are older and get allowances, write on the chore card the amount they will get paid for completing that chore.

When my husband was younger he said that his aunt had a chore list, but the amount paid for completing was hidden. When they were done they got to reveal what they earned. I think that is a cool idea too! And change the amounts each time! So one week they may get $2 for folding the laundry and the next it's only 50 cents. LOL That way they can't always choose what they are getting paid the most for. Hee! Hee!

What mommy wouldn't love a jar like this! To get help around the house, teach kids responsibility and how to save money. Daddy's...you can help the kids put this together and surprise your wife on Christmas morning! She will love that you are trying to enlist help for keeping your home clean and tidy!

Have a great week everyone! I'll be back soon with my Christmas Project!!! Don't forget to come back and see!

Christmas crafting with kids

2011-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

We got our first snow here in West Tennessee early this week. My kids were so excited. This is really the first time that they've experienced a real snow fall. When we lived in Texas it snowed about 1/4 of an inch in February of this year and it only stuck to the driveway (so that's where they made their snow angels). So, they were super excited. They played outside in the snow...got cold...came in and had hot chocolate. We've also been doing some more crafting and Christmas crafting in particular. My kids love to do "projects", and ask to do them all the time. I figured it was time I start actually doing some of the things that I pin on my pinterest board...so we got out the construction paper and got to work!

The first thing we made was a Christmas Tree ring Advent calendar from Make and Takes. Naomi was able to do this pretty well on her own, I just had to tell her where to put the next ring, however I had to help Micah with it quite a bit.

Then I decided to cut out their handprints and make a wreath. My mom used to make a big Christmas tree with her second grade classes handprints. I'm sure this wreath has been done before and is nothing new but it was fun to make and it'll be fun to see how their handprints grow over the years. So, I just traced their hands on one piece of paper and then cut six out at a time. Then you just curl the fingers in a bit and then I glued them to a cardboard cereal box circle.

Glue them around the circle and keep layering them until the wreath looks full. Then I just glued some red circles around and covered the middle with a big red circle and as you can see wrote "merry christmas" on the circle to cover up the ends of the hands. I think I used about 24 handprints (half from a 5 year old and half from a 3 year old).

I tried to trace Hannah's hand so that I could make a small Christmas tree but she threw a fit. I'll try again some other time. But, you can use the handprints to create a Christmas tree as well. Just start the hands with the curled fingers pointing down but the hands curling upwards and layer the handprints in the shape of a tree. I'll try and get a photo of one soon!

Happy Christmas crafting!

I'll be celebrating my 32nd birthday tomorrow...and I'm hoping to do 32 random acts of kindness within the next week. I'll let you know how it goes!

Gifts for grandma and husbands

2011-12-01T11:27:00.001-08:00

Hey there everyone, sorry for being absent on the blog last week, I was enjoying time with my family and didn't feel like spending any of that time on the computer...

So I owe you two weeks worth of gifts. Gifts for grandma and gifts for husbands.

There were a few things that my mom mentioned when I asked her about what the kids could make
for her that she would like to receive. She said she loves any handmade gift from the kids and
especially anything made with handprints. So, we did the handprint calendar for grandpa but obviously
grandma gets to enjoy that as well. She mentioned things like placemats, mousepads, an apron with
handprints on it...and while I think these are all great ideas and hopefully we'll still be able to make some
of these things before Christmas, we made something different. My parents are missionaries right now
over seas and they don't have a lot of the "comforts of home" with them over there. So, I decided to have my kids paint them a picture. I just gave the kids a square canvas board and let them use their own creativity to paint them a picture. Canvas boards can be found at JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby and Michael's. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby and it was a package of 6 boards for $7.99 and I had a 40% off coupon so each board only cost me about 80cents, and I already had the paints on hand so this is a VERY inexpensive gift idea.

These paintings usually happen in "sessions", they paint for a bit then stop and add more too it at another time. They LOVE to paint and ask almost everyday if they can paint. I like to keep those square canvas boards on hand for times like these. They make great personal gifts. I didn't take a photo of the finished project because I don't want to spoil the surprise for my mom!

I don't have any photos of what I am getting/making for Greg...but I can tell you about it quick. I ordered some personalized products with some photos that my aunt took for us on Thanksgiving. He's in need of a new travel mug (takes his coffee to work with him every morning) so I ordered one from Shutterfly. I also ordered a desk calendar for him from Vistaprint (I got the same one as a wall calendar for free). And the thing I am making for him is pajama pants. He told me that he was a little sad last Christmas when the kids got new jammies but he didn't. SO, I went to goodwill and had Micah pick out a top sheet that he liked (he picked solid navy blue) and I bought that and one flannel sheet for the girls and I plan to sew pj pants for the whole family out of those sheets. Sheets are so much cheaper (especially from goodwill) than buying that much yardage of fabric at the fabric store. Plus, isn't it nice to crawl into your sheets wearing sheets?! Ha, we'll see. I have a pair for myself that I cut out of some old vintage orange and yellow flower sheets about two years ago...maybe I'll actually sew them for my Christmas present this year!

Hope I've given you some ideas. I need something else for my hubby though, so if you have any good hubby gift ideas I'd love to hear them!! Have a great week!

Create and Share | Features too!

2011-11-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

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Gifts for Daddy's

2011-11-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

First off! Sorry to be gone so long. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family! Took more family photos with everyone! They look awesome and I will share them soon! We spent the rest of the weekend playing games with the kids, went to the movies and took a couple family drives. Sorry again...Check out some Daddy gifts below!

This week for our 12 Weeks of Christmas Gifts....

The gift is for Daddy's...!

Here's a pic of my hubby with the kiddos! We have some cute ones of them giggling in this same pose too!

Visit HERE to see past and upcoming Gift ideas.

And please visit HERE to view the gifts we have already posted!

Don't forget to grab the Christmas Gifts Button in the sidebar!!!

For Daddy...

For my hubby's birthday, the kids gave him the pic I shared for Papa's! The one with their feet saying "We Heart Daddy". And I gave him a framed photo of him with his silly bitter beer face. LOL He loved them! Said they were the best gifts ever! So that is why we are giving him more pics for Christmas! He loves the ones from our family photo shoot. So we thought it would be fun to put them in a frame as a series. He will be so excited.

More For Daddy...

In case you don't have any photos to give, I thought I would share some more great Daddy gift ideas!!! Click on the photos below to learn more.

These are some great gifts! Make sure you go visit them and tell them how great these are!!! These are all on our list to make for Daddy this year! Of course, if you notice the shirts in the larger picture, we made those this past fathers day and I wanted to share them again. I think they would make a great Christmas present too!

Have a great week everyone!!!

Create and Share | Features too!

2011-11-22T20:00:00.000-08:00

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Family Photos

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

We haven't had a personal post in a while and today I wanted to share with you some photos. My friend Jen took our family photos this year and I am so excited to share them. They are beautiful! I had a lot of fun making up our Christmas cards with these photos too!

Here are just a few of our favorites!

Love Love Love These! Thanks Jen!!!

If you are in my area (NorCal) and want your photos taken by Jen, let me know. Email me at trendytreehouse@me.com I know she would love to help you!

We can't wait to take more pics with Jen in the spring. Already planning on each of us wearing different bright colors. They are going to be cute! And this Friday we are taking more pics. Jen is taking our whole families photos. My family, my parents and my brothers. I can't wait to see how those turn out!

Love the Couch and Frames? Found the couch at an estate sale! The frames were found at thrift shops and spray painted for use in my craft room. They all made great props for our photos!

Please share your thoughts on my family photos in comments! Would love to hear what you think! ;o)

Gifts for Nana's, Grandma's, Gramma's, Grammy's...

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

This week for our 12 Weeks of Christmas Gifts....

The gift is for Nana's, Grandma's, Gramma's, Grammy's...!

Visit HERE to see past and upcoming Gift ideas.

And please visit HERE to view the gifts we have already posted!

Don't forget to grab the Christmas Gifts Button in the sidebar!!!

Ruler Growth Chart

I LOVE Pinterest! As I am sure most of you do. Thanks Jamie for introducing me. I love you for that! ;-) Anyway... I find so many great ideas on there. My mom is on Pinterest too and we both saw the Ruler Growth Chart! Have you seen it? So cute! Well, she said that is what she wanted for Christmas! (Hi, Mom! I know you're reading this! Surprise! You're getting your Ruler Growth Chart. Don't forget to act surprised when I give it to you. Ha! Ha!) Sorry just had to throw that in. I can't hide gifts anymore from her, she reads my blog. LOL

Here's a Pic of the one I love, found on Pinterest! I am not revealing the one we are making just yet! Gotta keep some surprise going for my momma!

I love that my mom will be able to record all the family's heights in one place! That is moveable! It's not just for parents anymore! Grandparents love measuring all their kiddos and grandkiddos too!

We have ours on a door frame and can't wait to transfer it over to one of these. And if we ever move, it will easily go with us!

How to make it!

You will need...

a 1x8x6 fence board (no cutting needed)

wood stain

black paint pen

measuring tape

sander (if desired)

Start by staining your board. I like darker, so a walnut stain is nice. Put on a couple coats until you get the look you want. Use a rag to wipe off excess stain. Let it dry for at least 4 hours.

Next, using your ruler, mark out your line measurements. Mark them with a pencil then write over them with your Black Paint Pen.

Next I printed out numbers in the font I liked. I sized them according to my board (220 font size) and printed them out. Cut them out and trace around with pencil on the board. Then just fill in with your paint pen.

After all the paint is dry, spray the entire board with a clear finish spray to protect the stain and paint.

Now you can start measuring and adding kids names. Have fun!

Christmas Shopping

2011-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Have you started your Christmas shopping? Have you finished? Have you started your Christmas crafting? Or maybe at least made a list? Well, I think that I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping and I'm about 60% done with my Christmas crafting. I am determinded to make this a handmade Christmas! I always say I'm going to make all my gifts (well, the ones I can anyway) but usually end up too far behind when gift giving time actually comes...not this year! I've got a few more things to purchase but mostly it's just getting things finished up.

Since I'm almost done with my Christmas gifts I thought I'd give you a jump start on yours. I'm going to be listing some things in my etsy store next week. I've got two felt fishing sets. I've got a few felt pizzas, some felt cookies and if I have time some felt breakfast sets. I can do some custom paintings. I've got some scripture photos, some tie shirts and maybe even a few dresses. I hope to get most of these things finished and listed before black Friday...but really my goal is to get things done by cyber Monday.

But in the mean time I'd like you to enter the giveaway for the DVD from Buckalope Elementary. Entries are LOW so please leave a comment and enter to win this great, educational DVD. Then you have one less gift to buy. I will pick three winners tonight...so please CLICK HERE and leave a comment on that post!

Follow Me Fridays

2011-11-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

Come by every Friday to "Find New Blog Friends"

| Linky Party Rules |

Grab the Follow Me Fridays Button for your sidebar
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Link up to your blog home page
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Visit at least 3 other link ups. Leave a meaningful comments and share with them that you found them from Follow Me Fridays
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Family Friendly Blogs only - All others will be removed!

...Top 3 Sites Visited Last Week...
The top 3 will be added to the top of the list each week!

Gifts for grandpa/papa

2011-11-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Today for the 12 weeks of Christmas crafts I have a craft for grandpa...but really it could be for anyone. I cheated a little bit with today's gift. I actually asked my mom and dad what they would be proud to display in their home that their grand kids had made for them. I told them I didn't want to make some totally cheesy craft that gets an "oh that's cute" and thrown away the minute December is over.

I wanted them to give me a few ideas for gifts that would mean something to them, something that the kids and I could make for them, and something that would be useful. My mom gave me lots of ideas and one that I really liked and have actually thought about doing before is the hand print calendar. My mom said she loves any gifts that include the kids hand or finger prints...she used to teach 2nd grade so she's gets it! So, I looked for a good starting point for my calendar and happened to find everything I needed at ABC Jesus Loves Me (which is the homeschooling curriculum I would use for my little ones if I was homeschooling). They have the hand print calendar all laid out for us! yeah! So, you don't have to reinvent the wheel and you don't even have to do any typing!

Now, there are different versions of the ever famous hand print calendar. I happen to like this one because it includes a scripture passage for every month and I love having scripture surrounding me! The cool thing, there are three different sizes all ready for you to print out! yeah! Like I said, fool proof! I used the small ones because I wanted the calendar to be 11x8.5 and it has two kiddos hand prints on it! If you're looking for one with poems on it just google hand print calendar and you'll see lots of different versions of the same thing!

I started with making the handprints. The great thing is, on the ABC Jesus Loves Me website she gives you some tips and pointers on how to easily do the handprints. Like do all the ones that include the same color together so you're not making more work for yourself. She also says to maybe do the handprints in two different sittings so the kids don't get worn out...well, that would have been nice to do but I knew I needed to get this done quickly (so I could post a finished craft for you...imagine that!). The kids did really well and actually enjoyed it. It's a great rainy/cold day activity. Naomi did get a little restless near the end but we prevailed and got everything done. And not only did I get enough hand prints for one calendar but I got enough for three. One for grammy and papa (my parents) one for grandma and grandpa (Greg's parents) and one for us! So, make sure to think about that as well while you're creating the handprints, better to get it all out of the way at once.

So, you need cardstock in white, blue and brown and some paints (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, white and brown), and a paint brush. Oh and some kids hands and foot! Follow the ideas on the ABC Jesus Loves Me site for how to make the handprints and then print out the scripture passages (or poems from another site). Then I made a new document in Microsoft Word and just created a calendar. There was no template for 2012 so I just used the 2011 calendar that was there and changed the dates. (If you want the calendar email me purejoycreative at gmail dot com and I'll forward you the calendar template in Word.) Then I just printed the calendar and after I made sure that everything was in the right order and facing the right way I taped the handprints down to the oposite side of the calendar page it was facing (does that make sense...hard to explain but I think you get what I mean). Then I took all my pages to Office Max and had them laminate the front page and bind them. They charge a lot for laminating so I decided to just do the front page and figure out something else for the other pages.

I was thinking that it might be neat to just make blank calendar pages, have it laminated and bound and then you could use the calendar for years and years. BUT...I'm not a big fan of white erase calendars...too easy to loose info. But if that's what you like...then there's an idea for you! So really, this is just a calendar to know what date it is and not anything special. I probably will add in the birthdays and such and then figure out how to make the handprints stay on better...hmmm...

Took a lot of counter space to let the handprints dry...so take that into account when you start this project.

Here are our calendar pages. Let me know what you think. And I'd love to know what you would have done differently. I've still got to finish the other two and maybe you can help me with (laminate or not, dates or not) the details of the next ones!

2011-11-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

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Cone Cakes

2011-11-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

My youngest daughter just turned 7. And we wanted to make her something special for her birthday. So I grabbed some supplies and we headed to my parents. We were going there so my hubby could move trees and I needed to get these done for the party. ;-) Luckily I had my moms help to make them. If you want to check out her blog, visit HERE! You'll love it!

Anyway...they turned out so cute! Don't you think?!?

Here is what you will need...

Your favorite cake mix, including the ingredients needed on the box

Ice Cream Cones

Sprinkles (Optional)

Foil (Cut in Squares)

Cupcake Pans

Vanilla flavored candies (Melting Chocolates)

Lolli Pops (we got the flower ones at Michaels)

First, set your oven to 350º. Then, start by mixing up your cake mix. We used Vanilla. I took the birthday girl down the cake isle and said pick your cake. Her eyes lit up when she saw one box had two box tops on it. Not one. (Her school is collecting them this year) She picked that box just because of the two box tops. CUTE! It happened to be one of her favorites. Plain White Cake. Once the cake mix was done, the kids added sprinkles. They wanted to make it confetti cake.

Once your cake mix is all set, you'll want to scoop it into the ice cream cones. You want to fill them about 1/4 of the way full. Just enough for the cakes to puff over the top of the cone. Take your foil and cup them around the base of the cone and place into the cupcake pan. The foil helps keep the cones standing up while baking and also keep the cones from scorching. Place in oven and cook at 350º for 8-12 minutes. More if needed. We used a convection oven, so they cooked nice and fast.

Look at how great these look.

Here is what they look like inside. YUM! My kiddos and hubby like them just like this too! They are about to get sweeter. Keep reading...

Now it's time to melt down those Vanilla Candies. We chose pink of course. After your cakes are completely cool, dip the bottom of the cones in the vanilla candy. Turn over and place in the cup cake pans to harden. It won't take too long.

While those set, you can make your frosting.

Homemade Buttercream Frosting

2 lb. Powdered Sugar Sifted

8 Table Spoons of Butter

1 1/2 Teaspoons of Vanilla

1 Cup of Milk

(more or less milk will make the frosting thicker or thinner)

Pinch of Salt

Cream together the butter, vanilla, milk and salt. Slowly mix in the sifted powdered sugar. Add more or less milk as needed. If you end up adding too much milk, you can always mix in more powdered sugar.

We added in Violet Wilton Food Coloring for our Princess!

Your cakes should be ready for frosting. You can just spread it on with a knife or pipe it on like I did. Place them back in the foil cup cake pans for travel, if you're taking them somewhere.

Add in the cute lolli pops and they are ready to serve. YUM! The girls are going to love them and they are so easy to serve. Oh and very, very cute for pictures. ;0) ;0)

I had some left over batter and one of my kiddos doesn't like cones, so I made cupcakes.

We used a apple corer to hollow out the centers of the cupcakes. I added some of the vanilla candy to the center. A little candy surprise inside.

Pipe on some frosting and these are ready to serve too!

And finally, here's my cute birthday girl enjoying the beater of frosting.

Let me know if you make them! I'd love to see what you come up with for yours!

Gifts for Papa's, Grandpa's, Grandad's...

2011-11-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

This week for our 12 Weeks of Christmas Gifts....

The gift is for Papa's, Grandpa's, Grandad's...!

Visit HERE to see past and upcoming Gift ideas.

And please visit HERE to view the gifts we have already posted!

Don't forget to grab the Christmas Gifts Button in the sidebar!!!

Personalized Photos

Grab your kiddos and their bare feet. Head outside and start shooting!

We saw this idea on Pinterest and I knew I wanted to do it!

We took a couple different shots. These two were out favorites.

I started with these photos...

Well not quite these. I did some touch ups and cropping first. ;o)
I loaded my pictures in to Flickr and edited them in Picnik. I love their tools for a quick fix!
First, I adjusted the exposure and cropped them. Then added a soft focus. Next I added a texture and on one of them a vignette. Soft black!
After I got them just the way I liked them, I opened them up in Photoshop to add the letters to their feet. I wanted to do it this way so I could change the letters. It makes it really easy to use this photo as a gift for anyone!
I can't wait to have the kids give this to their Papa at Christmas! It will look great in his new office!!!

Here are a few more ideas I had for this photo...

One for NANA too!

One for Daddy!

One for me of course! ;o)

And one that just says "We Love U !"
We can give this one to anyone!

This pic would even make a really cute Christmas Card!
I don't usually like to use XMAS, I prefer CHRISTMAS, but I don't think I am up for having more children for the feet. Ha!Ha! So it will have to do!

What do you think? Which photo is your favorite? The one of them looking at each other or the one of them looking at the camera?
Please share below in comments!
Hope you like them. You sure saw enough of the same pictures. LOL At least they all have different names on them.

Have a great week everyone and don't forget to check out Jamie's gift idea this Thursday!

I need your help!

2011-11-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Hey there blog friends! I wanted to let you know that I posted a tutorial for my DIY Fancy Chalkboard that hangs in Hannah's room on my blog. You can check it out here.

I am also wondering if you can help me out. A local photographer is going to be having an art show. She is looking for a little model to be in the photographs for the art show, so she's running on contest on her facebook page. I would LOVE it if you could help me out. Just go to Carrie Prewitt's facebook page and "like" the page. Then click on photos and look for the folder titled "Fall 2011 Model Search" then look for sweet Naomi and leave a comment! Just liking the photo does not count for this contest it has to be a comment. I would LOVE to win this for Naomi! If you can help me out I appreciate it. You can leave comments until Sunday night!

Yes, I am a photographer but as a mother it's always great to do things like this for our kids. Yes, I can take her photo, but this would be an experience that she would love and it would be awesome for me to see another photograper in action! Please help us out! Thanks in advance for your comments!!!

Buckalope Elementary: Review and Giveaway

2011-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

When Sandy contacted me about doing a review of the first episode of Buckalope Elementary I was ready to receive it but knew nothing of the product. I was excited to learn that this was an Educational DVD with puppets. Something my kids love!

"Buckalope Elementary is a creative collaboration between Exclusive Education and Furry Friends Productions, whose mission is to provide an engaging childrens' enrichment program that promotes social, emotional, and academic development.

"Career Day" is the first of 12 episodes in our new puppet educational series, which focuses on character building with an emphasis on careers. Each chapter will present a different character trait, with the overall intention of giving kids a set of tools that will help motivate, coach, and guide them early on as they begin their educational journey."

My son is a TV junkie...but he won't admit it. But the kid could sit in front of the tv all day (but I don't let him of course...well, not every day ;)). He LOVES puppets. When we found the cat in the hat dvds that were puppets he went nuts. So, I knew he would love this DVD and I was not mistaken. From the moment the episode started with the lively puppets and catchy music he was glued to the tv. He learned more about different careers and how not everyone is made to be a famous musician or actor. He has asked to watch the dvd many times. He always asks to watch the "puppet show".

Bucalope Elementary has a great product here. The puppets are well made and they don't look cheesy. The songs are catchy and well written and the story line was great. My daughter loved to watch it too and asked lots of questions about the careers that were mentioned in the dvd. It was a great teaching opportunity. We look forward to catching the next episode.

Buy it now: Buckalope Elementary "Career Day"

Buckalope Elementary's first episode "Career Day" is now available on DVD. In this episode, the kids are introduced to a wide spectrum of career possibilities, explore and learn to identify their own talents, and eventually put it all together to make "Career Day" presentations of their own.

This DVD contains the following:
"Career Day" (Full episode - 25:28)
(3) Music videos of original songs featured in episode
Outtakes and Trailer
Bonus CD

$9.99 (+ Shipping & Handling)

Buckalope Elementary and the people at Exclusive Education want to spread the word about their new DVD. So, three of our lucky readers will win their very own copy!! yay for you!! This is a great dvd for kids and with Christmas coming up so quickly you could win this and cross another name off your list!

Here's what you have to do to win...

Go to Buckalope Elementary and check out their website, then go and "like" them on facebook.
Come back and leave a comment that you "like" them on facebook.

For an additional entry "like" Trendy Treehouse on facebook and let us know that you do.

You will have until November 18th @ 9:00 p.m. Pacific Standard time to enter this giveaway. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here. If the winner has provided an email address I will contact you. If you don't provide your email, you will want to check back here and see if you are the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to those living in the US. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Thanks for entering at Trendy Treehouse. Good Luck and Have Fun!

The featured product {s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. By entering this giveaway you agree to Trendy Treehouse Disclaimer/Terms of use.

Follow Me Fridays

2011-11-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

Come by every Friday to "Find New Blog Friends"

| Linky Party Rules |

Grab the Follow Me Fridays Button for your sidebar
Follow Trendy Treehouse via Google Friend Connect
Follow Jamie's Blog via Google Friend Connect
Link up to your blog home page
Please Do Not link up specific posts, shops or giveaways
Visit at least 3 other link ups. Leave a meaningful comments and share with them that you found them from Follow Me Fridays
Do Not write - I follow back when linking up - It will be removed!
Family Friendly Blogs only - All others will be removed!

...Top 3 Sites Visited Last Week...
The top 3 will be added to the top of the list each week!

I'd love it too if you would share this on your blog. It will be a blog hop in hopes to get many new blogging friends!
Have fun meeting new friends!!! Enter your blog link below!

Gifts for best friends

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today in the 12 weeks of Christmas gifts is our gifts for our best friends.

I have some amazing women in my life. I am blessed with friends from each chapter, location and time in my life. God has truly made these women not only part of my history but part of my future as well. I want these women to know how much I cherish their unending friendship and how they stick by my side even when I'm not being a good friend. These women tell it to me straight and don't gloss over the icky parts of life. They listen with open ears, open minds and open hearts. I love them and count them among my daily blessings.

Giving these women gifts is almost like trying to buy something for the person who has "everything". I mean how do you sum up your relationship with a gift. I personally believe that these types of relationships deserve homemade gifts and gifts from the heart even more than some of the other people on our list. It's like you're giving them a little part of yourself. Not only are you sharing your talent with them but you're sharing your time with them by making something yourself. Plus, you're able to make it even more personal by adding in things you KNOW they will love that you can't buy at the store.

Rather than show you a bunch of half made projects I'm just going to share my inspiration for my projects and you can then use that inspiration as well or just use it as a jumping off point.

For your crafty friends, how about a cute little craft jar. You can do something small like this or go crazy and use a big applesauce jar. The skies the limit.

I plan on making this for my friend that has 7 children but of course I'll personalize it to look more like them.

Got a best friend that sews? How about a needle book. I've got this in the works for a friend of mine. Hope she likes it. Larissa has lots of great ideas.

How about a monogramed mug and kitchen towels? I plan on making these for some friends, for my husbands secretary and for Naomi's teacher.

For your friend that bakes, how about a personalized cake or cupcake carrier...those of you with the Silhouette or Cricket machines could easily do this yourself, I don't happen to have one...but if you get me one I'm pretty sure you'd be added to my best friend list ;)

Another one for your friend that bakes...just use a stencil on freezer paper or use your vinyl cutting machine.

And how about some homemade vanilla...everyone uses vanilla right?

These magnetic clothes pins would make a great little add on to any gift. If you're like me you can NEVER find enough clips or good magnets to hang things on your fridge, and you can always use it as a chip clip too...I think that's where all our magnetic clips went...

I think that's it for now. I need some more ideas...got any great best friend gifts that you've made? Would love to check them out.

Create and Share | Features too!

2011-11-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to go grab the Create and Share Button.

Please share it in your post or on your blog. Thanks!

Follow Trendy Treehouse via Google Friend Connect
Link up only to the post. Not your home page.
Please Do Not link up shops or giveaways.
Share the Create and Share Button somewhere on your blog or in your post. OR..NEW...Create a Backlink to Trendy Treehouse.
Visit at least 3 other link ups and leave meaningful comments.
Come back next week to see if your link has been featured.

If you see your link below in our features, grab a featured button HERE| Here are few of my favorites from last week |Click on photos below to read more

Gifts for Best Friends

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

This week for our 12 Weeks of Christmas Gifts....

The gift is for Best Friends!

Visit HERE to see past and upcoming Gift ideas.

And please visit HERE to view the gifts we have already posted!

Don't forget to grab the Christmas Gifts Button in the sidebar!!!

Lucky Horse Shoe Decor

We made these a few years back, so sorry I don't have step by step pictures. But it is pretty easy to make and your friends will love putting them up as decor in their homes. I keep mine hung by my keys. The photo below is of a round (oval) horse shoe. We made many in the "U" shape too!

What you will need

Horse Shoes

Bendable Wire

Pliers

Beads

To start, wrap the wire at one end of the horse shoe to secure. Add some beads on the wire. Enough to cover only the front of the horse show. The back can stay bare. Wrap the wire again and add more beads. Continue this all the way around to the other side of the horse shoe. Tie and secure wire again. Your done.

If you like, you can add some hanging beads and charms like I did. Or hang across some words in the middle of the horse shoe. You can use a bunch of colorful beads or use similar colors.