DIY Christmas Cards and Kraft Paper Envelopes-TUTORIAL

Today I wanted to share with you an easy way to create your very own holiday cards.  Maybe you need some simple yet festive blank cards on hand for Thank Yous?  Or how great would these be to write a little note and add a gift card for all the hard-working teachers out there...postal workers, the newspaper delivery person, or any deliver person for that matter!

The kind people over at Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery came up with quite the supply of fun holiday decorating and organizational goodies just perfect for this time of year.  I know I've shared about these product before but can I just show you the amazing line Martha's team designed and Avery created?

Wrapping/Shipping paper in so many fun designs, gift bags in lots of different sizes, tissue paper, ribbons and shipping tapes in pretty holiday colors.  They even decked out bubble mailers too!

The Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery line (sold exclusively at Staples!) also has mailing labels, gift tags, and pretty holiday stickers that would look so cute on your Christmas card this year!  Aren't they great?  The labels come in all sorts of sizes and can run through your printer for a more professional look.

To make the DIY Christmas Cards and Kraft Paper Envelopes you will need:

1 roll of Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Kraft Shipping Paper

1 roll of Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Decorative Shipping Tape

1 pack of Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Gift Labels

blank note cards

rotary cutter and mat

sewing machine and coordinating thread

I used 4x5 inch blank notecards so I cut pieces of Kraft paper to measure 4.5x11 inches.  Fold each piece of Kraft paper in half and sew down the two longer sides using a 1/4" seam allowance.

To make the cards, I placed a strip of the decorative tape near the bottom of the front of the blank card, leaving about 1/2 inch white space.

You could use the coordinating gift labels on the outside of the envelopes or just handwrite the name of the recipient.  I used the decorative packing tape to close the open edge of the envelope for a nice coordinated look :-)

I just adore this holiday line from Martha, as always her products are top notch!  I love how well everything coordinates, she really does make gift giving so easy.  And like most of Martha Stewart's products, there are always so many uses for each item she designs...I love that!

I hope you make a few of these this holiday season, they are too easy not to whip up a few!

*Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery and it's partner, Red Sky PR, offered these products to me for my review.  My opinion is honest and was not paid for, I just really love these products!

XOXO

** I have been compensated for this post. However, all opinions are truthful and my own.  This post contains paid links.

Snickerdoodle Cake-RECIPE

Oh, my heck!  You are going to absolutely love this recipe.  I finally sat my butt down to write up my infamous Snickerdoodle Cake recipe with y'all, your welcome.  It is all sorts of awesome and I just know you will love it!  

The best part of this recipe is that you make it with a boxed cake mix.  AND it can even be a Gluten-Free boxed cake mix!  Yup, I tried it and it worked great!  Just a note though, if you plan on making it Gluten Free you may want to eat within a day of baking as it dries out more quickly since there are no preservatives in the Gluten-Free cake mix I used...the Betty Crocker brand anyways!

Snickerdoodle Cake (makes two 8 or 9 inch cake pans)

adapted from Always with Butter

For the cake

1 box white cake mix (or 2 boxes Gluten-Free Betty Crocker Cake Mix)

All the ingredients the box states on the back**

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

For the Frosting

2 cups (4 sticks) softened butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

6-7 cups powdered sugar

milk, to thin frosting if needed

**If you are using a regular box cake, add an extra egg, melted butter instead of the oil, and milk instead of water.  This truly makes this cake out of this world!  You can't quite do this with the Gluten Free cake mix as the back of the box already calls for melted butter :-)

To make the cake: In a medium bowl, mix all cake ingredients together as stated on the box adding in the ground cinnamon. Pour the batter between two greased 8 or 9 inch cake pans.  Bake as directed on the box. Let cool.  

To make the frosting: Place the softened butter in a bowl of a electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy.  Add in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla and beat until well mixed.  Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar one cup at a time.  You may not need all the powdered sugar.  If the frosting is too thick to spread you can add milk one tablespoon at a time to thin it out a bit.

These are the Gluten Free cake mixes I used (you will need two boxes to make a layered cake!)  The cake turned out great with them!

If you do not want to go the GF route just use a regular white box cake mix and add an extra egg, replace the oil with melted butter, and replace the water with milk.  You will not be sorry!

Pour the batter evenly into two greased 8 or 9 inch cake pans.  I like to rap my pans on the countertop before they go into the oven to get them to bake as flat as possible.  Bake according to the directions on the box.

While the cakes are baking, you can get started on the frosting!  This frosting is seriously To. Die. For.
Yes, it's that good! You may just want to eat it by the spoonful with your head in the refrigerator so that your kids don't see you.

 Beat the softened butter until it's nice and light and fluffy...like so.

Add in the brown sugar.  Yes, this makes the frosting.  I know it seems weird but trust me.  It is heavenly.  It gives the frosting that classic Snickerdoodle crunch that comes from the cinnamon-sugar that covers them...yum! Add in the ground cinnamon and vanilla too.  Mix well and then add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time.  If the frosting is too thick add a splash of milk and see if that thins it out to your liking.  Frosting is hard to mess up, really.  You can do it.  It's just playing with powdered sugar and some type of liquid (milk in this case) until it is spreadable :-)

To speed up my cake cooling time, I like to put them in my freezer for about 10 minutes or so.  Then, with a serrated knife I slice off any unevenness and flip the first layer right side down onto a my cake stand.  Then I place a huge dollop of frosting on top of this base layer and spread it around.  You want it thick though so when you cut into the cake it looks good!  Then place the next layer of cake right side down over top, centering it.  Drop a humongous dollop of frosting on the top of this layer and frost by working from the center out and down the sides. You can smooth it out once you have your whole cake covered and add in any special designs with specialty frosting tips if you desire at the end.

And there you go!  You can garnish the cake with whole cinnamon sticks or grate some cinnamon sticks all over the top, your call.

 This cake is literally bursting with cinnamon, it is soooo good!

I hope you love it!

Thanks for stopping by today!

XOXO,

Big Little Man Turns 6

Holy cats!  I cannot believe that my oldest child, my big little man Noah, turned 6 years old yesterday!  What is going on with that?  I swear he was just born.

His birth made me a momma, something I will never forget.  Thinking back to that day 6 years ago seems like yesterday.  My water broke while I was at work.  Although I had no clue that that was what was going on as I wouldn't have my first contraction for 4 more hours.  It was 3 weeks before my due date.  I called my momma and didn't know what to do.  Did I pee myself?  Whenever I sat down the leaking stopped but when I stood up I would get another gush, it definitely wasn't the classic water breaking you always see in the movies.  So many people kept telling me that is what happened towards the end of pregnancy...the peeing yourself deal (which by the way I never had happen once in all of my four pregnancies!) I remember feeling so embarrassed.  Clif and I couldn't leave work as it was our busiest time of the evening with a waiting room full of patients so we needed to stay and finish out the day.


We headed home around 8pm to gather our things and get a sitter for our dog.  On the way to the hospital I finally started really feeling contractions, and they were strong!  We arrived at 9 and dang, I was in so much pain the only position that felt good was kneeling on the bed leaning over the raised portion!  Forget the CD of awesome music we made and the birthing ball, those weren't going to be happening that night. The nurses didn't seem phased by my pain and figured I'd be there for a while as this was my first baby so they didn't call my midwife right away.  I think I might have been 5 cm dilated.  An hour went by and I was 7-8 cm with the pain getting worse and worse, they finally decided it was time to call my midwife :-)


Then the pain became so intense, like this pressure I have never ever felt before.  Clif ran out to get the nurses, they rushed in and checked me and ran right back out (looking to see if my midwife had arrived to the hospital yet).  I kept yelling that I had to push.  They kept telling me not too, that I wasn't dilated enough.  Then all of a sudden, like an angel in the sky, my midwife came rushing into the room and yelled, 'PUSH!'  Hooray and thank God!

Two big pushes later and this little guy popped right out.
So freakin' incredible.
I ended up delivering him on my hands and knees.  Not my finest moment in life but when you are having a baby what isn't on display for the world to see, right?
Clif was right there to catch him and we were finally able to see if he was a baby boy or girl, that was way fun!

I thank God every day for giving us such a sweet little guy to watch over.  He is such a joy to watch grow into the little man he is becoming.  Such an awesome jump into parenthood he was.  He is a great big brother, an eager student, and a sensitive soul.

We love you so much, Noah!

 XOXO,

Give Thanks Wall Art Tutorial and Cricut Mini Review

Today I'm excited to share with you some fun wall art I made that is currently gracing the walls of our home.  I thought this "Give Thanks" phrase was totally appropriate for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday as well as it's a great reminder each and every day to give thanks to all that we have in our lives.

I was contacted not too long ago to review the Cricut Mini and of course I had to say yes.  I was really excited to try out this smaller version of the Circut cutting machine as the advantages of this smaller machine are that it's lightweight and portable (hello girls night out craft night!) and can still be used to cut lots of different materials like vinyl, craft foil, fabric, and heavy card stock.  Plus there are hundreds of shapes, designs, and cutting cartridges available for immediate download online at Provo Craft's Project Center.

The Cricut Mini comes with an 8.5 x 12 inch cutting mat (that is the largest size paper you can cut with the mini!), a getting started guide that walks you through set up of your mini, a pack of card stock for making your first project, and a USB cord and cables too as you the mini only works with a computer.

I will tell you right off the bat that I am no techno superstar.  I actually dislike very much having to set anything up or download anything onto my computer...too scary for me!  The Cricut Mini was very easy to do though, truly!  Even for me, and I did it all by myself...no help from Mr. Smashed Peas at all!  :-)

The Step by Step guide was great, and nothing was missed.  It probably took me all of 5 minutes to get it up and running.  There is also a quick video that you can watch that will show you the basics of how to start a project and I thought that was very helpful too.

When you first start a project you will do so in the Project Center (above) by logging in to your account.  To make the Give Thanks. wall art.  I just opened up a text box and sized it to fit the way I wanted to on my 8.5 x 12 inch scrapbook paper.  The Cricut Mini come with a free selection of letters and shapes found in the Cricut Craft Room Basics.  You can always purchase more fonts and shapes but I thought there was enough to choose from with just the free stuff!  Maybe I will buy more in the future as I come up with more fun things to make :-)

The Project Center is pretty cool because it shows your cutting mat on the screen so you know exactly where your letters or shapes will be.  It is super easy to move them around, increase or decrease the size, and stretch or slant them too.

I printed the Give Thanks. text on one sheet of scrapbook paper and then I deleted the words and added the pumpkin shape to cut out on another sheet.  This way I was able to have a nice layered effect with my project.  When you are ready to cut you just click on the green 'Cut' button at the upper right corner of the screen.

After you click the green 'Cut' button it will take you to this page next.  Here you will choose what type of material you are cutting...lightweight, medium, or heavy card stock, vinyl, etc.  Then it will give you recommendations for the Depth of the knife, the Pressure and the Speed it will cut out your project as well as the number of time you would like it to cut.  So easy!

This project cut out in seconds. Seriously it was so quick...and quiet, I was expecting it too be so much louder than it was.  Yay for that...paper crafts while baby sleeps, anyone? :-)

After it is cut, carefully peel off your project.

 The mat is pretty sticky, so go slow!  I also saved the letters for another project to do later :-)

Then, I used glue dots to stick the polka dot card stock to the burnt orange one and then placed the cut out pumpkin on top in the bottom corner.  I love the layered look of this!

So simple and pretty and I just love the phrase!

::  ::  ::

This just in!  Provo Craft just announced Cricut Holiday Rental Bundles, a service that allows users to rent holiday-themed digital images and cartridges for use with Cricut Craft Room. Holiday Rental Bundles are available for purchase until December 31 and you can choose between two 60-day rental options. The Holiday Basics Rental Bundle is available for $19.99 and enables users to rent morethan 700 digital winter images found in the Cricut Craft Room including Christmas Cheer, Joys of the Season, Snow Friends, Very Merry Tags and more. For $29.99 users can purchase the Holiday Deluxe Rental Bundle which grants access to those images, plus nearly 500 additional images including Teresa Collins image sets, Holiday Cards, Ornaments and many more images.

If you are interested in renting any of these bundles for your Cricut machine you can see them here:
Holiday Basics Rental Bundle
Holiday Deluxe Rental Bundle

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

XOXO,

The Thanks Giving Tree-TUTORIAL & Giveaway

With Thanksgiving coming up right around the corner...less than 6 days away, oh my!  I thought I would share a fun tutorial for a project that the kids and I did earlier this month as a reminder of all that we are thankful for in our lives.    Earlier this fall, Elmer's and X-ACTO sent a kit full of goodies out to me so I could try their new Z-Series Knife. This knife is X-ACTO's sharpest and most durable blade yet and I thought this would be the perfect project to try it out!

We made a Thanks Giving Tree to share all that we are thankful for each and every day.  This project is so easy to do and perfect for little hands to help decorate. This would also be such a great project to do on Thanksgiving, don't you think?  I cut out the 3-D tree and the leaves using the new X-ACTO knife (it's super sharp so only adults should be using it!) and I let the kids paint the tree and write on the leaves as well as decorate the tree with our thankful leaves...it was a fun way to spend an afternoon.  And we are always adding more leaves as we think of more things to be thankful for everyday!

Here's how you can make one too!

The Thanks Giving Tree

Elmer's Bi-fold foam board

X-ACTO Z-series knife

Assorted sheets of scrap book paper

Elmer's permanent dot runner

Brown craft paint

Paint brush

Pencil

Are you ready to make a Thanks Giving Tree with your family?  Let's get started then!

First, trace out a tree shape with branches onto your foam board with a pencil.  Then using an X-ACTO knife, carefully cut the tree shape out of the foam board.  Make sure to cut a small tree stand as well as a small slit at the bottom of the tree so the tree can stand by itself.

Using brown craft paint, cover both front and back of the tree and stand.  Let dry for 30 minutes.

Take your scrap paper and X-ACTO knife and cut out leaf shapes in different sizes.

Grab markers, pens, or pencils and write what you are thankful for on the backside of each leaf...or use a thick, dark marker and write on the front of the leaves..your choice!

Using an Elmer's Dot Runner, place a small amount of the dot runner tape on the underside of one tip of each leaf so that each leaf will be able to stick to the tree.

Press each leaf to the tree branches and voila!  You have a very pretty free-standing Thanks Giving Tree to decorate your home this Thanksgiving.  Now, whenever you see it you can be reminded of all the wonderful things to give thanks for in your life!

To continue with the Thanks Giving theme, Elmer's and X-ACTO would like to offer TWO $25 Walmart Gift Cards for TWO lucky readers to win so that you can try out their new products yourself!

To enter:

Tell me what you are thankful for this year!

For extra entries (please comment for each entry!)

1. "Like" X-ACTO on Facebook, here.

2. "Like" Smashed Peas and Carrots on Facebook, here.

3. Follow me over on Pinterest, here.

Giveaway ends Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at midnight!

Good Luck!

XOXO,

"Simplify in Style" with the Martha Stewart Home Office Collection with Avery

Have I ever told you how much I love Martha Stewart? She is the Queen of all things crafty and pretty, and of course, yummy. She has amazing books, magazines, and a line of craft products that makes me want to spend every cent of my money. Yes, she is pretty awesome.

Well, to make me even more in love with her she also has the Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery products which are sold exclusively at Staples. I was very excited to be asked to review and receive some of the products from the line. Yesiree Bob, she is now feeding my organizational soul, oh me, oh my! A new part of this line includes a whole array of beautifully made Holiday Shipping products, just in time for the holidays!

The Holiday Shipping product line includes beautiful wrapping/shipping paper (I am loving the printed Kraft paper in the middle!), tape, padded envelopes, and printed mailing labels. Oh man, she is really taking the stress out of my last-minute holiday wrapping and shipping frenzy. Sorry about all those late gifts in years past, Mom and Dad; I swear it won't happen any more!

The Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery also includes beautifully bound planning calendars like this one.

Included inside is a weekly and monthly format. The month to month section, seen above, even has bits of Martha's classic to-do lists ... love those little notes!

She also came out with a pretty line of Shagreen accordion files, pockets, and standing organizers. All available in various sizes and colors to coordinate with your office space perfectly.

I really love the Shagreen Pockets. They fit just right in the antique sewing cabinet I have in my studio. The pockets come with two ways to hang, via a strip of sticky tape to tape that removes cleanly or you can use the two push pins, included, and hang it up that way. The pocket is roomy enough for your organizational lists (Christmas lists!), letters, mail, you name it! And it's super durable too!

The standing organizer sits on one of the shelves and organizes a whole bunch of the holiday shipping products ... tape, ribbon, gift tags, gift bags, tissue paper, scissors and my monthly organizer.

I seriously am in love with all the Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery line. Martha definitely did it again in making me want every last piece from this line. Now that I have some of these products in place I feel like I will be superwoman going into the holiday season. I have everything I need all organized and in it's place so I can wrap up all my pretty gifts and get them in the mail on time ... yahoo!

Interested in seeing more from this line?

You can see more of the products, colors, and sizes, here.

You can order your very own products from the line, here. (Although the holiday wrapping and shipping products are only available in-store at Staples)

You can follow Avery on Facebook, here.

Avery and BlogHer are giving away a $100 Staples gift card to one of you!

Just tell me:

What is your favorite organizational tool in your home office?

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 (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry"; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, 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 11/14/12-12/14/12.
Be sure to visit the Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggersí reviews and find more chances to win!

XOXO,