Sugar Scrub gifts

Hi there!  Well this week I have been busy with putting together teacher appreciation gifts. I decided to do a small gift each day for my youngest Samantha's two teachers. Day one we gave them the wonderful Lemon Sugar Scrub that I showed ya in a previous post along with a Yankee Candle Lemon Votive candle. Day two we gave them a Bath and Body hand soap and hand lotion. Day three{today} we gave them a pretty bouquet of flowers in a cute mason jar "mug". I have been finding amazing printable tags all over on sites I follow and Pinterest for the gifts. Seriously if you are not on Pinterest you are sooo missing out!  :0)   Well her teachers loved the gifts and they were fun to make. I did make a new sugar scrub today. I found this idea on   Echoes of Laughter, just go there to see her original post. Here is what I made...
   ~~~~~~~~ Honey Lavender Sugar Scrub ~~~~~~~~
1 1/2 c. raw sugar or granulated
1 tsp. honey
1/2 c. light olive oil
6 drops of lavender essential oil
~~mix it all together in a bowl until combined
~~scoop into jars

That's it! pretty easy right. I did find out I do not like the lavender scent so I did make another batch without it  :0)   I also changed mine a bit. I used coconut oil instead of the olive oil, and I used the raw sugar. But either way both oils are super good for the skin, so you can't go wrong, I was simply low on my olive oil and still had the coconut oil from the last scrubs I did so it all worked out. I cut a circle of lavender fabric and tied  it to the lid with some twine and a cute tag. Done! Easy, simple, and very useful~ love those kind of gifts~
here are the finished scrubs...

I think they turned out very cute. I had my daughter whip up some pretty tags for them, she is so much better at that stuff than I am! I wish I knew digital design stuff  and was more comfortable with computer stuff  :0)  As you can see by my blog it is not my specialty, oh well.
 We are also going to be starting another painting project, redoing the kids bathroom, so I will begin that this weekend. I am looking forward to starting it and finishing it ;0)  It will be very different and I am taking before and after pictures to share. Well I hope you all have a great weekend and a wonderful Mothers Day!
~*~Blessings~*~
Jen

A little paper crafting...

Hi There!   Well I have been able to get a little card making done this week and have done a little bit of stitching on a candle mat I am working on. It's slow going but hey it's progress and I'm good with that  :0)   There is so much always going on with the kids school stuff, and it's getting towards the end of the year for them so they have all kinds of stuff going on. We will have a High School graduation for Austin {and let me just say I am not handling this growing up and moving on very well- I miss my little boy :(  ok I won't go on }  then we have an 8th grade graduation ceremony for Hannah, and finally a ceremony for Samantha going on to kindergarten from K-4.  Yes they are pretty far spaced out in age I know  :0)   Anyway it just seems time is flying by and as much as I want to craft and create I just don't seem to have enough time! 
 Well I did make some cute birthday cards this week. I like making like 3 or 4 at a time using the same image but just changing the colors and layout just a bit. So for these I used a super adorable stamp from Stamping Bella -they have such super cute images-  ok so this one is Abby and she is holding balloons and a cupcake and dressed in her party dress. So let me say that I did get a lil picky with three of the cards because I used my markers to color the image using different colors, not just black. Yes it was a bit time consuming but I really liked the final result. So then I just did one where I stamped the image in black. All were colored in using some colored pencils or my Stampin' Up markers. I added some embellishments and layered them with some pretty patterned paper and done. My wish list has the copic markers on it, but for now I use what I have :0)
Here are some pics....

the stamp I used, isn't she so cute!

my papers I picked to use

supplies I used, plus some ribbons and sticky jewels,

and glitter glue

the inside of the four cards, I always have to add 

a little something to the inside also

another card I made using Stampin' Up! stamps

and ink, not not sure who's paper it was though.

Like I said one day I hope to have a collection of the Copic markers to do the coloring on the card images because those markers are amazing for that, but I only have four at the moment. If you want to see some Amazing cards go check out my friend Jeanie at thespottedchick.blogspot.com  ,boy she does beautiful work.

so I also made a Lemon sugar scrub, that I found the idea and recipe 

on Pinterest ~I seriously LOVE Pinterest!!!~  You 

can go here and it will take you to the site I got it from,

which is I Heart Naptime and I love her site! So go 

check it out and it would be perfect for a Mothers Day gift :0)

Well that's all for this week, I hope you have a great weekend! My son has his senior prom on Saturday and Hannah has her 8th grade spring dance the same night so I will be sharing those pictures next week :0)

~*~Blessings~*~

Jen

Recouping from Relay

Hey There! Well as you see I didn't post last week because I was completely busy fitting everything in before our Relay For Life that was on Saturday to Sunday. So let me start with a bit of history...
My mom was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in October 2008. My sister actually took her to the ER on my sisters birthday and we found it out. My mom lived a few counties away from us kids so we would talk to her but didn't see her daily. It was a very big shock. I had just had a baby in August 2008. My mom was not able to come and see me and the baby yet so when I saw her she was at the hospital getting ready to go in and have the tumor removed as much as possible. She was not able to think and stuff completely. That was hard to watch her struggle with simple tasks and stuff. So the tumor was very big and they couldn't remove it all. She was given 3 months to 9 months to live. She passed away 3 months later on January 15th 2009. She was only 53.
So my sister and I decided to do our own team for the Relay for Life this year. My sister used to be part of the team her work did but we decided to start our own. Our team was ~Team Monster Mash~ Cancer is a monster and we need to mash it out! We wanted our team in memory of our mom and a friends mom who also passed away from cancer, and friends who have gone through it also.
We raised just over 5,000.00!! I think that was pretty awesome for our first year and it's just us! Well let me say that this girl is soo not used to staying awake all night long and walking that much either! My legs were sore but nothing major, I was more tired than anything :0)  Very tired!   We made stuff to sell during the Relay, I made a "lemonade" type stand and sold cookies and then my sister made a strong man game for people to play. We made monster faces out of tissue boxes that kids could throw a ball into and they got a piece of candy then. Everything went great, it was a long tiring night, but we made it and had fun. One of those things you wish you didn't have to be there but it's just how it is. God is still good, all the time.  I think my favorite part was when all the luminary bags were lit at night with all the lights out and everyone was walking quietly, very moving.
So I took some photos of our booth and stuff to share....

that's my niece standing in front of our tent, in her pjs

our tent area

My sweets stand~ my mom's picture on our team banner

not the best image but they had the words HOPE and CURE 

spelled out in the luminary bags on the bleachers, we were at

 a high school football field, it looked amazing

some of my mom's luminary's  

Well that's about all for today, not much of a happy fun post but that's what I have been up to this past week and stuff. I did get a chance to make some homemade marshmallows that I will show you soon! 

Have a great week, we will be shopping for shoes for my daughters school dance coming up soon and my son has his senior prom the same night so we have alot of picture taking coming up :0) 

~*~Blessings~*~

Jen

Yippee!! I won!!

Ok so I told ya to check back soon for the details on my winnings! Well here is my AWESOME prize package I won from Hoopla Palooza !!!

I just LOVE it all! 

Ok so I won a Cupcake cookbook, a Marshmallow cookbook,

two packs of cupcake liners, a pack of cupcake printed napkins,

and a kit of tags, twine, and ribbon to use to package up 

goodies to give away!

This is how my packages were wrapped~ how fun!

The cookbooks were so fun to flip through, and my daughter

was enjoying them also :0)

This is the first marshmallow recipe I want to make,

I am planning on gathering my supplies this weekend to try it out!

This is the first recipe I want to make from the cupcake cookbook.

It sounds super yummy, and my Mom always would make homemade

lemon meringue pie for us kids, and we loved it!

So is that not a awesome prize package or what!! I enjoy Lisa's blog Hoopla Palooza  it is so much creative fun! You should check her out, she will brighten your day :0)

Thank You! Thank You! Lisa for offering such a generous prize package giveaway.

I was so shocked I won that when I was emailing her my info I sent her two emails by mistake :0)   It was to funny. Well that's all for today, I hope you have a great weekend!

~*~Blessings~*~

Jen

Kids Easter Table Decorations

Hi there! So today I am sharing my Kids Easter table decorations.

We set up a kids table on the porch at my in laws, for a couple reasons. First there are alot of kids in our family, so we all don't fit inside at the main table, and second I love decorating for parties and stuff!!  I used streamers to make a cute "wall", in spring colors. For the table I had the paper "grass" from last year so I used that down the center and placed peep chicks and eggs throughout. They did double duty to help hold the grass down, because it did get breezy and for decoration. I attached some yellow rick rack to a huge pink margarita cup I had and placed that in the middle of the table and filled it with jelly beans, dum dum suckers and a scoop. I placed my cupcake stands-that I just love!- on each side of the huge cup and filled them with the super adorable chick cupcakes made completely by my Hannah and some peep chicks. I also tied some streamer on the stands. Each kid got a water bottle with a cute Happy Easter label done by my SIL. I wrapped the fork and spoon in some streamer and tucked a smartie candy into each bundle also. The little kiddos got a container of playdough wrapped in some chevron scrapbook paper, and a cupcake liner on top, then a chick or bunny head filled with jelly beans on top. They all love playdough and when I had seen it on  Echoes of laughter -just click there and you can see her post that I got the idea from- I knew I wanted to make them. Hers are cuter, I could not find any of the cute bunny head eggs that she had, so I had to make do with what I found  :0)  We did a nature scavenger hunt and after that each kid got a cool goodie bag. They all had fun and it was a Blessed day!
Before I share pictures I just have to tell you of my hubbys great idea he had for fun...he wanted to have an egg fight-with raw eggs!!!- YUCK! as you can guess I did NOT join in on that "fun" game  :0)  It was my hubby and two of the boys (nephews), and yes each had some egg on them in the end, again YUCK!!
Ok so here are the photos....

aren't those cupcakes so cute  :0)

The egg fight

who will get who first...

my hubby running, and out of eggs!

Well that's all for our Easter fun today, I have some projects in the works and will post soon. Check back soon for my post on my awesome prize package I won last week from Hoopla Palooza !!  I was shocked I won and super happy :0)  Things have been a little off schedule with my youngest sick the past few days. 

Have a great week!

~*~Blessings~*~

Jen

Candy Baskets

Hi there....today's Whatcha Workin' On Wednesday is an easy Candy Basket.

I have seen the idea floating around Pinterest and thought it would be great to do for my Niece. It is really super simple, and quick to make. You just need:   boxes of candy, a Nerds Rope candy for the handle, glue gun and glue, and a piece of cardstock, then goodies to put inside  :0)

• First just glue the boxes to each other at the edges
• Second glue on the handle
• Third cut your cardstock to the size of the bottom and then glue that on
• Last fill up your basket with fun goodies!

Now here is a mini one that my daughter Hannah made using the Nerds boxes....

Isn't it just so cute! But what isn't cute when it comes in a mini right! These would be a cute one to take to a kids class party, just the right amount of candy  :0)  She used the Sixlets pack for the handle and then added some jelly beans inside. I love it!  here is the bottom with a piece of cardstock. Easy, qiuck, and fun!

Well that's all for today, next week I will share pics of our Easter kids table that we are putting together for the kiddos. I hope you have a Blessed Easter holiday! We will be going to sunrise service then having lunch with family, should be fun  :0)

~*~Blessings~*~

Jen

Hair bow and head band holder

Hi there!  This weeks Whatcha' workin' on Wednesday is my ~or I should say Samantha's~ new hair bow and headband holder. Let me start with saying yes she is my complete girly girl like I have said before so along with that comes plenty and I mean plenty of hair accessories! They were over flowing the drawer she has in the bathroom so I decided to take action and create something pretty and functional for her pretties  :0)  
 I have made photo holders before so I decided to do the same idea only change the size. Well off to the store to find just the right fabric, it had to be Samantha approved and pretty with sparkle if possible. She LOVES sparkle! Sooo  we found this striped sparkly fabric that the colors were good and Samantha loved it. So here is my pictures and how I made it....
Supplies: plywood cut to your size needed, fabric, batting, ribbon, upholstery tacks, sparkly gems~opt.~, staple gun, glue gun and glue, hammer, craft tacky glue, and a hanger or two for the back to hang up.

supplies

First lay down the fabric and cut leaving like 4" all the way around

the wood, do the same for the batting. Lay down the wood on the 

batting and wrap around the edges and staple all the way around.

Lay the fabric face down and place the batting covered wood on it

and wrap the edges and staple all the way around.

Figure out how far you want your ribbons spaced and cut them

with about 3-4" extra on each end. Figure where you want them

placed and wrap around and staple, making sure to keep them

lined up and snug. My fabric made it easy, I just followed the lines :0)

the ribbon I decided to use~ a lil' ruffly~

Then I cut more of my fabric, the same size as my board.

I pressed all the edges 1/2" down and glued that to the back

to cover all my other edges.

Now figure where you want your tacks to go. I used a nail 

to start my holes then put the tacks in, and hammered them down.

I used my craft tacky glue to attach the gems, but you could 

also use hot glue if you prefer.

I added some hangers to the back...

and here it is all hung and ready to fill!

Just some of her hair stuff! 

All finished and very full! I placed it right next to her mirror and purses, she is always in front

of her mirror  :0)   I figure when she out grows the hair pretties she can use it for a picture holder.

Well that's all for this week, thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great rest of the week!

~*~Blessings~*~

Jen