Happy Healing [ + real life]

We go through bandages pretty quickly around our house. I'm not a stinker and I let my kids pick out fancy band-aids with characters on them.  We usually have Hello Kitty and Perry the Platypus ready to go.

On my last trip to the store I picked up some inexpensive plain bandages.  I had so much fun doodling on my napkins yesterday.  Today we doodled on our bandages.

Tess got into the action with lots of fun designs. She drew anything from mushrooms to puppies, and angels with cupcakes.

As I am typing this post up, Tess is still drawing on more bandages.  I don't think they are considered sterile now that they are out of their wrappers. Considering most of our bandage use is for old scrapes and cuts that I can't see, I think we are okay.

Close up shots are a great way to crop out all the chaos around you. This is what the whole desk looks like where we are coloring. That pile of bandage wrappers is a lot bigger than what you see.

Have a great day!

Steal of a deal

One Charming Party is having a sale on their party plans right now.  Buy one party plan and get one free!  This is a great deal.  I love One Charming Party plans.  

I used the Mermaid party for Tess' birthday and the Water party for Davis' birthday.

Their party plans have tons of detailed pictures and lots of ideas.  Visit their shop and enter the code SUMMER at checkout.  You need to hurry.  The sale ends August 31 at midnight.

New Napkins [+ real life]

I've had this fabric set aside for over a month now. The plan was to make six double sided fabric napkins. One side with off white fabric, and the other side with something colorful.  

I sewed one double sided napkin together and it felt too thick.  In the end I sewed twelve single sided napkins.  What I have been putting off for several weeks was completed in a couple of hours.  Why do I get so distracted? Darn you Pinterest! I'm obsessed with collecting ideas.

The patterned fabric was all just laying around my craft room.  This was a very inexpensive project. I cut my napkins pieces 17 inches square and used a half inch hem.

All along I had planned on doodling a picture onto the off white fabric with a fine point Sharpie.

Collin and I spent some time sketching ideas.  I'm not big on perfection, so I wasn't worked up about the pen bleeding and my art looking like a grade schooler did it.  I call these imperfections charm.

The toaster ended up being my favorite of all the sketches, and maybe the veggies.

Twelve new napkins ready to be used and abused.

Sometimes it just feels good to make something with you own hands.  This is one of those projects for me. Nothing too complicated, just fun.

You should give it a go.  Let it be fun and have lots of charm. ;)

Just in case you were wondering about what was going on in the background of my pictures...

This is a picture of my standing on a bar stool to get the shot of all the napkins.  Collin was coloring next to me as I was drawing my doodles.  The last photos is what it looked like when I took a picture of the line of napkins.  The picture is a little too small, in this collage, to see the dust on my table and crumbs on the floor. So goes my life. 

Movie Night Recap [+ real life]

 Our outdoor movie night was a success.  

The water bottles and bags looked great.

We enjoyed butterscotch bars and

summery cherry lime bars.

I popped up three different kinds of popcorn.

But, I really could have just made caramel popcorn and everyone would have been happy.

I used my Silhouette to make the popcorn signs.  Oh, and my big purchase for this get-together was a couple of silver scoopers for the popcorn.  They really put to party over the top.  Ha ha.

I was joking with my friends about what the behind the scene blog shots really look like.  All this week I am sharing pictures of what things are really like in our house.  This picture is of a few of the blankets and pillows still sitting in my family room from the movie night.  Just for reference, the movie was three days ago.  Maybe I will put that stuff away tomorrow...

It's gone

I thought it would be fun to make some simple cinnamon bread for the kids. Kind of like monkey bread.  Nothing fancy or too difficult. 

Rhodes frozen rolls + butter + cinnamon sugar + bunt cake pan

Bake for 15 minutes at 350˙

I sprayed the pan with Pam.  Tossed my frozen roll dough in and swirled them around a bit to coat them. Set on the counter to thaw and rise.  Poured 1/4 cup of melted butter around and around the top of risen rolls.  Sprinkled the tops with lots of cinnamon sugar.  Then a little more cinnamon sugar.

I ate one and couldn't stop.  Davis had one and Mike had one.  The rest went into my belly. What is the deal with warm carbs and a little butter? It's irresistible.  

The bright side: These are so easy to make.

The dark side: These are so easy to make.

Hooray it's Friday!

This week I felt like a legit mom.  Two kids in school, one of those in half day kindergarten = three trips a day down the hill to the school. Agh, that's a lot of driving.  We love their school, so it's worth it.

To celebrate the weekend, we invited some friends over for another outdoor movie.  I thought it would be fun to make some cutesy stuff that will make me happy, and the kids will take for granted.  Mike mentioned this was just friends coming over.  I laughed it off, and made a mental note to keep this low key.  

Believe it or not, this was the first time I have made water bottle wrappers.  Yeah, I know that's sounds like crazy talk, but it's true.  

I had lots of grandiose ideas, and things I wanted to buy to make this event little get-together spectacular. In an effort to keep things simple I tried printing text on to some little paper bags instead of buying popcorn boxes. I don't know why I lack printer skills, but I do and was not successful in printing on the bags.

To follow through with the idea, I cut a stencil out with my Silhouette.  Yes, I just used cardstock.

With some paint and a sponge brush, the kids and I stenciled our popcorn bags.

It wasn't perfection, but I don't mind that.  Projects like this get the kids and I to do something creative together.

I'm off to make some popcorn for the masses.  I hope you have a fun Friday night too.

p.s. I did spend some money for this get-together.  I tell you later when I share more pictures.

Tess' Big Day

Tess starts her academic career today and she couldn't be more excited. Davis is just as excited for her.

Kitchen - lingual

I really miss eating fresh saimin and ramen.  I haven't found a restaurant in Utah that makes fresh ramen.  If you know of one, please pass the info on.  

When I went to the Asian market, I walked very slowly down the noodle aisle looking for something familiar. I found some yellow noodles that looked good and bought them.  A long time ago I worked in a restaurant that made fresh ramen.  I have seen it being made, but I don't remember how to make the dashi, or broth.  I searched the internet for a ramen recipe I could make with my noodles. Getting discouraged by one thing or another, the noodles have sat untouched for a while.

I didn't look at the back of the noodle package until tonight.  The cooking directions are clearly not English. Lucky for me I am kitchen lingual. Yeah, figure they are noodles - just boil them.

The noodles didn't end up in a nice tasty bowl of ramen, rather the bed for some chicken and veggies.

I picked up this dipping sauce at the farmer's market, and it's delish.  A little goes a long way, so I just drizzled it on top of my dinner.  Oh yummy!

noodles + panko crusted chicken + veggies + Noona's dipping sauce = best dinner I've made in a while

 

Family parties are the best

 They are even more fun with a theme!  Our simple bbq was just that much more fun because of a few little party favors and some simple decor. I wish everyday was World Photography Day.

Kids and grown ups alike carried their paper cameras around all night. We joked about my Mom taking her camera to the airport and running it through the scanner. Maybe you had to be there, but we had a good laugh.

To make things a little festive, I hung up some streamers and pictures with glittered clothes pins. I took about half of the photos myself, and others were just funny ones I found really quick. I kind of don't want to take this down.

Those cute paper cameras worked hard all night. Between snapping hundreds of pictures and being smashed by little ones, they were the life of the party.

Tess and Drew also made a couple of solar prints with flowers and rocks from the yard. I remember doing this in my first photography class. Simple and fun.

The party was topped off with cupcakes and a movie in the backyard.  I can't for our next party.

World Photography Day

Did you know today was "World Photography Day?"

There are no shortage of cameras or pictures at our house.

click on photo 

We are hosting an Abiang (my maiden name) family bbq tonight.

I'm working on some party favors and photography themed decor.

I'll share photos when it's all said and done.

GO TAKE SOME PICTURES!

Do you have a card?

I don't have a business, but sometimes I think it would be nice to have business cards.

This sounds like crazy talk, but maybe I need a Mommy calling card or something.

image via glitter guide

Rae has a set of Mommy cards and they are super cute.  

If I made cards, should I include blog info, kid info, or both?  Maybe I don't even need them.

Do you have any feed back for me?