St. Patrick's Day Downloads

Need something to make you feel a bit more Irish? Here is some fun shamrock wallpaper for your computer desktop, compliments of Eleanor Grosch.







Or print some cupcake toppers from TomKat Studio. I am a big fan of the topper, and these look awesome.








Big shout out to How About Orange, for the download tip off.

Planting, Planting, Planting

I love gardening. I really do. I long for the time when the weather allows me and Andre to get out in the yard, and clean winter off of it! I have grand, well, maybe not grand plans, but do-able plans for this spring and summer.
Anyway, I am getting off of the subject. I love to plant, and I want to pass that on to my kids. At Target the other day I found these cute little planting kits in the dollar bins. (Love those dollar bins!) I thought this would be a cute way to get Cash active in plant life.
I forgot to take pic's while we were planting, but here are some from this morning. Cash loves to check his sunflower's progress every morning. You can tell he has some serious bed head.
The blue is the sunflower. The yellow is the daisy. Aren't they the cutest, little pots? I will post them again to show the how they grow.

Spring Has Sprung...at least at our house

A week or two ago, Cash and I had a day of craftiness. A couple of things I already posted, but some I held off on for days like this. The boys and I have been fighting off a nasty stomach virus the last few days. While I can't get up and move about much, I can sit with my laptop comfortably enough for a while before I start to feel sick again. Needless to say, there has not been much going on, so it's good to keep a few things up my sleeve for such an occasion.

We made lovely little Easter crayon surprises for all of Cash and Luc's friends. If you are one of these, please act surprised when you receive yours. :) It was an idea stolen, of course, from erin
who is a crafting genius. :) (Loving that shout out, eh Erin?)
Here's how it works...gather up any broken crayons you may have. This was super easy for me because I teach 5th grade. Once it's broken just a little...it's tainted in their eyes. After you gather them, unwrap them.
Cash liked unwrapping them for about a minute. Then he pronounced, "Mom, why don't you finish this part of the craft by yourself?" He proceeded to leave me in the kitchen alone. Once they are unwrapped, you can break them into smaller pieces and color sort them. I used an ice tray to make it easier for Cash to help, and he was all about this part.
Notice: Chocolate around Cash's mouth. What has he been eating?? hhhmmmm.
Just to be sure the crayons didn't stick to the tray, I sprayed a light coating of PAM.
We then placed the broken pieces in a cookie mold sheet in the shape of flowers. (Erin used ice trays, so that might be a less expensive option.) I mix up correlating colors to make a swirly effect.
Cash has his construction hat on site to make this crayon business seem more "manly." :)
Heat cookie tray in oven at 250 degrees for about 10-13 minutes. Just long enough to melt the wax.













Let the tray cool completely, then pop those beautiful babies out! You now have recycled, reused, and reduced! Good for you!
PRESENTATION: My personal favorite.
I wrapped a couple in cellophane,(there goes my points for reducing) and tied the ends like a piece of candy adding a little note.

Chocolate Souffle Cupcakes with Mint Cream

Kristy and I threw Casey a bridal shower today to celebrate her upcoming nuptials to Mr. Gellerman. It was a garden party theme, and pretty cute I dare say. You just have to love a spring theme at the dead end of winter. I will post some pic's later after I get a chance to go through them all properly, but for now to tie you over ....the cupcake. This recipe has been setting up camp in the back of my mind ever since I first saw it, and there's no better time to break out the yum yums like a party. (I love party food!) The recipe was super easy, and they got the thumbs up from everyone this afternoon. The recipe can be found at Smitten Kitchen. This one is a keeper...take a look.

Inspired Necklace

I was recently introduced to the Ruffles And Stuff blog, and I am in love. The creator of the blog, Disney, is so very good at what she does! Ah, to be like her! So I try. I saw on this post how she made this cute "Easiest Necklace Ever" after being inspired by a JCrew necklace. I took the title to heart, and figured I could make one of my own. There's no point in recreating the wheel, and showing you step by step how I did it. Just check out her blog...you will thank me (as I thanked Erin) for showing you. Let me just show you the final product.



PS- Erin...yours is on its way!

New Outdoor Fun...TRAMPOLINE!

Andre's parents came in to town the other week, and they brought with them a special gift for the boys...a trampoline. Both Cash and Luc have fallen in love with it, and have spent much time on it since. (This wears Cash out, which is fannnnnnnnnntastic!)

I thought I would share a few pics of Cash strutting his stuff while jumping. It's pretty comical.

AH! Check This Freebie Out!

Get a free 8.5x11 Hardcover Photo Book (up to $39.99 value) with 20 pages from Picaboo using the code AFFLGB if you are a brand new customer. You do need to pay $8.99 shipping (which will take 3 to 5 days). There are three cover styles to choose from: Large Classic, Classic Leather, and Classic Custom. I've never gotten a photo book from Picaboo so I'll be interested in hearing what you think about your free photo book! This offer expires on March 31, 2010, so don't waste time...get started!! Thanks to Freebies4mom for giving me the heads up. :)