Klutz Book Giveaway

Today I have a great giveaway for you from the lovely people over at Klutz books!  I received a copy of this book a few weeks ago and I have to say it is really such a great craft book for kids.  My kids spent a good chunk of time playing and creating little Pom Pom monsters of their very own which is always nice for momma!  Since I have a pretty large stash of yarn they have been able to continue creating well after the yarn that came with the book was gone too :-)

Want a peek inside!  You got it...

Here's a little about the book from Klutz:

Arts, Crafts & Laughs! KLUTZ books are the Perfect Holiday Gift for Any Child!

With Pom-Pom Monster Salon, anyone can make pom-poms and turn them into stylish monsters. Use our exclusive pom-pom maker and follow our cutting and styling instructions to create perfectly coifed mop tops, afros, pigtails, and mohawks to name a few. Add tiny hair bows, punch-out feet, and foam horns and teeth for the final touches.

Want to win this book for that crafty, creative child in your life?  

Klutz is offering up TWO Pom Pom Monster Salon books to TWO of you!!

To enter:

1.  Tell me who you'd give this book to if you won!

That's it, easy peasy and just in time for Christmas!!

Giveaway ends Saturday, December 3 at 8 am!!

Good Luck!

Each book is $16.99

Giveaway open to US mailing addresses only.

Sample and Prizes courtesy of Klutz

Get 20% off your entire order - shop Klutz.com and use coupon code KLUTZ4U

Promo cannot be combined with any other offer. Offer expires 12/31/2011

And if you’d like, download this image: http://bit.ly/sDQ7LA

XOXO,

Candy Cane Bunting {Tutorial}

It's time to start decorating your home for the Christmas holiday and I thought what better than to post my Candy Cane Bunting that I shared last year over at Delish!  This is really easy to put together and extremely festive for this time of year.  All you need is some pretty red and white fabrics and a few other goodies to get started, enjoy!

Candy Cane Garland

(6) 3 x 36 inch strips of fabric in three coordinating colors 

(1) 8 x 36 inch piece of fusible interfacing

2 yards of jumbo ric rac or wide ribbon in a coordinating color

candy cane template

disappearing ink pen

scissors or rotary cutter and mat

pins, thread, and sewing machine

iron and ironing board

Cut two strips of three coordinating fabrics measuring 3 x 36 inches each.  These will be sewn together to form the front and back of your candy cane design.

Place two of the strips of fabric (I used a red swirl and a white Christmas-y fabric) with right sides facing each other and sew a straight stitch down the length of one side with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

With wrong side facing up, spread the fabric open and press the seam towards the darker colored fabric.

Next, take the remaining strip of coordinating fabric (my remaining strip was a red gingham) and place it right side facing to the right side of the white fabric.  Sew a straight stitch down the length of the fabric with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

With wrong side of the fabrics facing up, press the seams toward the darker colored fabric.  Do the above steps to the remaining three strips of coordinating fabric and set aside.  

Next, take your length of fusible interfacing and, following package directions, iron it to the wrong side of ONE of your candy cane fabric pieces you just sewed together.  

Layer the two pieces of candy cane fabrics right sides together with the fusible interfacing side facing the bottom (or toward your table).  This way you can cut the front and back of the candy canes at the same time.

Draw a candy cane template, I just free-handed mine and made it about 8 inches tall by 5 inches in width.  Place it on top of the candy cane fabrics at a slight angle to reproduce the classic slanted red and white stripes seen in candy canes.  Trace the candy cane onto your fabric using a disappearing ink pen.  Cut each candy cane out with a pair of sharp scissors or use a rotary cutter and self-healing mat.  

Next, grab your jumbo ric rac or ribbon and lay it out on a table so it is not twisted.  

Starting about 12 inches in from the end, place the back of the first candy cane underneath the ric rac and then the front of the candy cane on top of the ric arc, making sure the wrong side of the fabric are facing each other.  Pin in place, being sure to catch the ric rac with the pins near the top of the candy canes.

Sew around the entire candy cane using a straight stitch and a 1/4 inch seam allowance.  This will allow the candy canes to fray at the edges a bit, giving them a nice vintage feel.

Continue placing your candy canes on the ric rac about 4-5 inches apart.  Just remember to leave about 12 inches of ric rac at the end for hanging your bunting.  

That's it!  Now you have some sugary-sweet bunting to decorate your home for the holidays.  And remember that you can incorporate so many fun fabric colors or even use red and white felt to make this pretty vintage style bunting!

XOXO,

Thankful.

Thanksgiving is just one day away (if you are in the States that is!) can you believe it?  This is the time of year that we all reflect on the things we are thankful for and while I have a laundry list of things I could go on and on about can I just spend a moment being thankful for my family.  We just had a family photo shoot not too long ago and I just love what our photographer captured. Mind if I share a few with you?

I am thankful for these three kids...boy, they sure do make me smile.  

This little guy...he just turned 5!  He's not so little anymore but he'll always be my baby.

I love this smile with his eyes twinkling, he could light up any room. 

Penelope, Penny, Pen-Pen...what a sweet little girl you are.

Her giggly smile will grab your heart every time.

And little Eloise, is always ready for a laugh.  I think one of the newest words she learned just about sums her up... 'tickle, tickle'...as she tries her hardest to tickle under your arms.  

Clif, such a great daddy.  I love this tender moment with our littlest babe.  I am so thankful that he is mine for life, I wouldn't want to go through this life without him.

Isn't this such a fun photograph?  I think we may just print it out on a really big canvas and hang it in our family room.

Thank you for letting me share a few of our pictures.  I just love our photographer and am so happy we were able to get in a session with her.  She is so very talented, every picture she took was so beautiful that it was really hard to pick only a few to share with you here.  If you live around the Chicago suburbs here is her photography site in case you want to try to get in with her someday.  I highly recommend her, my kids adored everything about her as did we!

XOXO,

My Cookies in Print.

Hey friends!  I just wanted to share something with you that I received in the mail a few weeks ago.   If you can believe it (cause I kinda still can't even though I have the actual magazine in my hands) Smashed Peas and Carrots is in print!  My Melted Snowman Sugar Cookies and Sugar Cookie Icing recipes can now be found in the most current issue of Nova Gente SOLUÇÕES which is a Portuguese DIY interior decoration magazine!  The name translates to mean, 'New People SOLUTIONS'.  

I even made it to the cover of the issue...pinch me now!

A lovely editor of this fantastic DIY magazine emailed me a while back asking about a few of my blog posts and bing, bang, boom...I'm in a magazine.  What an amazing honor!

This is just part of the little snippet that accompanies my photo spread...any of my lovely friends out there read portuguese?  I can read my name and my blog address, lol!  ;-)

This magazine has been so much fun to flip through, even though I don't read a drop of portuguese the DIY projects are easy to 'read' through the pictures.   Which by the way are styled so gorgeously. 

Really, don't you just want those chairs and their cozy knit covers in your house...or better yet, don't you just want this house, I love all that wood!

Okay, so that is all.  I just wanted to share a little something with you that I am really proud of lately.  Thank you so much for reading and stopping by.

XOXO,

Head and Shoulders Review and $50 VISA Gift Card Give Away

We are in the midst of fall right now, and that means weeks of cool weather in the 60's and 70's followed by random stretches of a day or two here and there where the weather will dip into the very chilly 30's and 40's. I guess that's nature's way of getting us ready for the cold, negative numbers we are about to become very familiar with, when winter arrives for what seems like half the year here in the midwest.

It seems that the last few years around this time, my scalp starts to get itchy, and *gasp* I might even admit to seeing a bit of dandruff at the beginning of the cold weather and dry, dry air that comes with it. With my dark hair, that is definitely no good. For the last few years, one part of my 'beauty' routine that definitely changes when colder weather hits is to switch out my shampoo. Do you do this too? I always try to switch over to a more moisturizing shampoo when the dry air enters the picture, so I was excited when Head & Shoulders sent me their new Eucalyptus Itchy Scalp Care shampoo and conditioner to try out, as my head is definitely a candidate for using it this time of year.

The Head & Shoulders Itchy Scalp Line promises to ease three scalp and dandruff problems:

1. Dryness

2. Itchiness

3. Sensitivity

They use a Hydra zinc formula to alleviate these conditions so your hair is beautifully flake free, just what I need! Now, I've been using this line for the past few weeks and I have to tell you I really like it. First off, it smells great! It has a really fresh, clean smell, not a boring dandruff shampoo type of smell. I don't know about you, but I really like my shampoos to smell good. It's just one of those things I think a shampoo should have, a good smell. Head & Shoulders uses naturally inspired fragrances like almond oil, eucalyptus, and aloe vera in this line which in my book smell great alone and together!

I thought the shampoo worked really well. After every use it left my hair shiny and soft which I don't always feel when I have used medicated or dandruff shampoos in the past. Of course the best thing about this shampoo is that my scalp has been itch-free, and I haven't seen one speck of dandruff, wahooo! I love a product that does what it claims to do, don't you?

BlogHer would like to offer one lucky reader a $50 Visa gift card.

To be entered for a chance to win, just tell me one thing:

How do you change your beauty routine in the colder winter season from the warmer seasons? Leave me a comment to be entered for a chance to win.

**The Winner is #9

Please email SmashedPeasandCarrots@gmail.com within 72 hours to receive your prize winnings!

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 11/21/11 - 12/22/11


Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggersí reviews and find more chances to win!

Want more great tips for winter hair care? Check out the newest 'Looking Your Best' post in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com.

XOXO,

Accuquilt Go! Baby and Hadley Grace Designs...Winners Announced!

I'm so excited today as we have a whole bunch of winners to announce, woo hoo! 

The winners of the Hadley Grace Designs give away are:

Congratulations ladies!   Please email me at SmashedPeasandCarrots@gmail.com and let me know what your final decision is for your free pattern, then Hadley Grace Designs will email it to you right away!

The winner of the Accuquilt Go! Baby plus 3 dies of their choosing is #234...

Yay Kristina!  Happy Early Christmas to you :-)  Please email me at SmashedPeasandCarrots@gmail.com to verify the dies you would like and send me your shipping information as well as phone number so Accuquilt can ship your winnings to you immediately!

And if you didn't win, do not worry!  We have lots of fun giveaways coming up throughout the holiday season so your chance may be coming soon!!

If your company is interested in sponsoring Smashed Peas and Carrots and participating in a giveaway please send an email to SmashedPeasandCarrots@gmail.com to get more information.

XOXO,

Pecan Pie {Recipe}

I've got another one of our favorite recipes we like to enjoy on Thanksgiving (and throughout the holiday season!) for you today.  

I don't know about you but I absolutely love pecan pie, there is just something about sweet, caramelized, crunchy pecans in pie form...delish!  I love it straight up, no brownie bottom or chocolate pieces immersed in it please. This classic pecan pie fits the bill every time in my book and there is no corn syrup involved which just makes me feel better about it, simple ingredients at their best.  You can make your own pie crust if you have time otherwise a unbaked shell works in a snap.  I hope you love this recipe as much as we do :-)

Pecan Pie

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy.  Stir in melted butter.  Stir in both sugars, flour, milk and vanilla.  Add in chopped pecans and mix well.  Pour into unbaked pie shell.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and then 300 degrees for another 50-55 minutes.  Enjoy!

Oh the pecans!  You have to use lots of pecans in this pie...so good!

First place two eggs in a large bowl and beat until foamy...

Then melt 1/2 cup of butter...

And add it to those foamy eggs.

Then you are going to measure 1 cup of light brown sugar and 1/4 cup of white sugar...

1 tablespoon of flour, 1 tablespoon of milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract...

and add them all to the butter/egg mixture.

Take 1 1/2 cups of your delicious chopped pecans...

And add them in too, stirring well.  

Pour the pecan mixture into your homemade or store bought unbaked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Then turn your oven down to 300 degrees and bake for an additional 50-55 minutes.

The crust should be nice and golden brown and the pecan filling should be crusty and cracking...heaven in a pie plate if I do say so myself!

I love to eat it just the way it is but if you desire add a dollop of whipped cream!

Enjoy!

XOXO,