The Biggest Silhouette Sale EVER!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I hope you all get to enjoy friends, family and good food today! We have so much to be thankful for!

Quickly, I wanted to share Silhouette America's HUGE Black Friday deals that they are offering starting today, this is their biggest sale ever!!!

Y'all know how much I love my Silhouette!! I have made so many fun projects with it...letter garland, tattoos, stickers, labels, even Halloween treats, you name it! It is one awesome machine! You can cut vinyl, adhesive paper, chipboard, and of course scrapbook paper with it and Silhouette even offers my most favorite thing ever, the Print and Cut feature so you can print off any design you desire and then cut it out with your Silhouette!

Here are the HUGE deals that are being offered but only until December 8th, so you better jump on these now!

(1)          A Silhouette CAMEO®, Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition Software, a dust cover (the color is decided by Silhouette), a $25 download card, a hook, a scraper, a spatula, and a pick-me-up® tool for $229.99. Retail price for all of this would total $406.93 (over 40% savings!)

(2)          A Silhouette Portrait®, Silhouette Studio® Designer Edition Software, a dust cover (the color is decided by Silhouette), a $25 download card, a hook, a scraper, a spatula, and a pick-me-up® tool for $129.99. Retail price for all of this would total $286.93 (over 40% savings!)

(3)          A Silhouette CAMEO®, a Silhouette Portrait®, and two $25 download cards for $299.99. That’s right: If you buy a Silhouette CAMEO® at full price, you get two $25 download cards and a Silhouette Portrait® ABSOLUTELY FREE! Retail price for all of this would be $406.93 (over 40% savings!)

(4)          40% off consumable products at silhouetteamerica.com. This excludes machines, subscriptions, download and gift cards. Cannot be combined with any other offers. Rain checks not available.

(5)          FREE SHIPPING on orders over $25.

Pretty sweet deals, right!

Just remember to use my exclusive coupon code: CARROTS when you check out HERE to get any of the deals above!

Have a great rest of your Turkey Day!!

XOXO,

Let's Hear it for 7!

Last week my little guy, Noah, turned a whole 7 years old! 

So essentially that means that we have been parents for 7 years now...what the whaaaat? I swear I was just in labor with this kid. Not that I will ever forget the labor and deliveries of any of my children (at least I hope I don't!) but this little dude's seems the most memorable just because it was my first birthing experience.

From the first contraction until he was in my arms was all of 3 hours. 3 hours and two pushes and he was out a minute before midnight. I guess he reeeeally wanted his birth date!

7 is a pretty cool age so far. We love the young man you are becoming. You are an amazing reader, you can literally pick up any book and read it with ease...this amazes me still because, hello, how did you even learn to read? Every night you read a chapter from your Bible, I think it is so awesome and totally something you want to do on your own. Your goal is to finish the whole book. You love school and you are really good at math too. You are a rule follower...unless you are at home, haha. You love trying new sports and you love being active and outside. You love to draw and write and you already wrote and illustrated your very first book called, The Lonely Cheese. We will keep it forever!

You are a great big brother. All of your siblings look up to you and will do whatever crazy idea you come up with. They adore you through and through. Oliver, even though he is only 17 months old, will try his hand at wrestling you any time he sees you laying on the floor. It is soooo cute. And you are always so gentle with him.

You are exactly how God wanted you to be. We love you so much and are glad he placed you in our care. I hope this year is your best yet. We will love you forever, Noah Bear!!!

XOXO,

Hello Kitty Let's Play Clothing and KuKee!

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and KuKee, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #helllokittyletsplay  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

My little Penny has been a fan of Hello Kitty ever since she was a wee little thing. So we were both thrilled to find out that Evy of CA has a new Hello Kitty Let's Play DRESS UP Clothing Line at Macy's (in stores now and ready to buy up for Christmas gifts!) When we heard the news we went online and found a super cute black and hot pink coordinated active hoodie and pants that is just perfect for our cold fall and winter weather. 

The adorable little hoodie even came with a cute pink Hello Kitty bow headband!

Can you tell Penny absolutely loves this outfit? She is a headband girl through and through so that was the icing on the cake for her :-)

I love that both pieces are interchangeable with so many of the clothes that she already owns so she can get lots of wear out of each item!

She begged to wear it to school the day after it arrived in the mail. How could I say no when she looks this cute in it?

One of the neat things about this line of Hello Kitty clothing is that each piece from the line has a clothing tag/marker that you can scan using the KuKee app and the Hello Kitty Dress Up experience comes to life. So your little girl can dress Hello Kitty up in different outfits, crowns, and accessories. Plus you can take a picture, glam it up, and share it with friends.

Here is what the clothing tag looks like. You just download the KuKee app and scan it with your phone like the picture on the right, above.

To get the KuKee app, you go to the iTunes store, here, or you get also get it on Google Play, here. It's a FREE app too! Just click the FREE button at the upper right hand of the screen (via the iTunes app store) and it will begin to download to your phone. Next you scan your clothing tag to open the app and then you can get started dressing up your Hello Kitty!

So easy and so fun!

You can also open the app by scanning KuKee markers like this one above! You can find different colored ones on the Hello Kitty KuKee pinterest board HERE. 

You can use the KuKee markers to go on a scavenger hunt (and you can even get started by scanning one from this post)! Here is a little bit more info on how the hunt works:

This clothing line is not only adorable and super cozy and comfy it is also interactive and so entertaining and, with the combination of the dress up puppet show and this scavenger hunt, my kids could spend a whole lot of time playing with this app that's for sure! 

Macy's is having great Cyber Monday and Black Friday sales so if you have a Hello Kitty lover in your family you will want to stock up on some of the great items from the Hello Kitty Let's Play line!

You can find more about KuKee here:

Facebook  ::  Twitter  ::  Instagram

 XOXO,

Thankful November: Happy Tags

Here's another fun idea we did as part of Thankful November, where we are doing little acts of kindness each day this month and bringing some good cheer to others (see a few other ideas here and here)

At the beginning of the school year I bought a few packs of journaling cards at Michaels to use as lunch notes for my kids thanks to Ashley's brilliant idea here. I really like journaling cards, and have become quite addicted to them. They are the perfect size for so many things (lunch notes included!) and always have cute fonts and colors. I happened to buy quite a few of the Recollections brand a while back but I also love the Project Life ones too...so pretty! Each pack contains little 3 x 4 inch cards with a writing prompt on each (as they are meant for journaling and/or scrapbooking) but there are always a few of the designs in each pack that have inspirational phrases or cute sayings too.

I thought it would be fun to pick out of few of the cards with inspirational phrases and cute sayings and glue them to a large manilla tag decorated with washi tape. On the other side of the tag I attached a small glassine envelope in which we could tuck in a small token or gift to brighten someone's day.

I bought some gift cards and scratch off lottery tickets to place in some of the envelopes and in others we added a few dollar bills. Then my littles and I ran errands and placed the tags all over leaving a trail of happiness wherever we went.

We left them at the dollar store, the gas pump, the Target cafe, on a vending machine, on a parking meter, with the bananas at the grocery store, next to the cream and sugar at a coffee shop, on a bench at a park, attached to a swing at a playground, and then we handed a few to some cashiers too!

We saw a few people find the tags and I so wish we could have had the time to stick around and watch more as it was so fun to see...I don't think my littles will ever forget this.

Hope this idea inspires you to brighten someone's day!

Thanks for stopping by!

 XOXO,

RECIPE: Chocolate Peppermint Cake Mix Biscotti

Now that the holidays are fast approaching I thought I'd share a delicious recipe that is so easy to make you will want to add it to your holiday baking list, stat! 

Do you love biscotti, but have been scared to make it yourself? Well, have no fear, I have the perfect recipe for you...Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti! And the secret ingredient that will help you whip these up in no time at all? The new Dark Chocolate holiday cake mix from Pillsbury®!

This biscotti is so easy and tastes so decadent you'll never believe it was made with a cake mix!

Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti

1 box Pillsbury® Dark Chocolate Cake Mix

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 tsp peppermint oil

1 can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme Peppermint frosting

Candy canes, crushed

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the cake mix, flour, butter, eggs, and peppermint oil until well combined. Place dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a 12 x 4 inch log. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 15 minutes, then cut the log into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange slices on the parchment lined baking sheet with their sides up. Bake for another 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Place 1/2 can of the frosting in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 30 second or until the frosting is melted. Pipe or dip the frosting over top of the cooled biscotti and sprinkle with the crushed candy canes. Enjoy!

Easy peasy ingredients for an easy peasy recipe!

Mix the cake mix, flour, melted butter, eggs, and peppermint oil together in a medium sized bowl until well combined.

Place the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a 12 x 4 inch log.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes and then let the biscotti log cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet.

Cut the log into 1/2 inch slices and bake for another 10 minutes with the slices on their sides.

While the biscotti are finishing baking, crush some candy canes in a ziploc bag with a mallet.

Then melt the peppermint frosting in the microwave for about 30 seconds and drizzle over top of the cooled biscotti. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the biscotti next.

And there you have it...super easy and delicious Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti!!
A new Christmas cookie tradition is born! :-)

XOXO,

I have been compensated by the  J.M. Smucker Company to promote its Pillsbury Holiday products, but the opinions expressed are my own. ©/® The J.M. Smucker Company. Pillsbury is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC, used under license.  

Simple and Pretty Gift Card Packaging

Here's another simple and easy idea to say Thank You to someone this holiday season. The kids decided they wanted to give their teachers gift cards to Starbucks as a thank you for working so hard to teach them every day. They know how much their mommy loves her Chai Tea Latte with soy, so they figured their teachers would love something from there too, haha!

We placed each gift card into a small kraft bag and folded it closed with a gold paper clip with a touch of lace. The kids flattened some colorful polka dotted cupcake liners, stamped "a surprise for you" in the center of a paper doily, and then we glued them together and tucked them underneath the paperclip.

 So pretty...and a simple enough project that all of my school-aged kids could help put them together :-)

I hope this inspires you to thank someone today!

Thank you for stopping by to read!

XOXO,

Simple Sewing Book Review and Giveaway!

Today I am so excited to share with you a book by Katie Lewis, Simple Sewing: 30 Fast & Easy Projects for Beginners. You may also know her from her lovely blog, The Red Kitchen. She wrote a book! How fun is that!! And a darn tootin' pretty good book if I do say so myself.

This book is absolutely perfect for the beginning sewist. I so wish she had written it when I started sewing 4 years ago. And even though I am no where near a beginner I really think this book is pretty great. I love the sheer volume of fun and quick projects she put together. Accessories, Baby, Toys...the list goes on, as you can see from the picture above! And I'll have you know that every project has full color, step-by-step instructions AND 90% of the projects in the book require less than one yard of fabric!

I actually used her Reversible Bib project to make a baby gift for a friend's friend's baby shower (haha, did you get that?) It was the easiest bib I've ever made, using 2 different cotton fabrics to make it reversible...and good for a gender neutral baby shower gift...and a set of snaps instead of the velcro! 

Totally adorable, right?

I paired it with some of the burp cloths I sell in my shop...

And packaged it up all pretty along with a few other fun gifts and sent it on it's way to it's new happy home!

If you'd like to make your own Reversible Baby Bib or any of Katie's other fast and fabulous projects than you will want to enter the giveaway below to win a copy for yourself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can see more of the book tour over at Kojo-Designs and Ruffles and Stuff.

And you can buy a copy of the book for you or some friends at these retailers:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

XOXO,

Michaels Pinterest Party #MPinterestParty

Have you ever been to or hosted a Pinterest party? 

If you don't know, a Pinterest party is where you get together with some friends and spend an evening crafting up a few ideas that you've pinned from Pinterest? (follow my boards here if you'd like!) Well, I have always wanted to do one and when Michaels asked me to host my very own Pinterest Party I was like sign me up. How fun would that be! I love any chance to get together with girlfriends for some kid-free time!

Michaels sent me some really fun red and white decor (Pinterest logo colors) to get the party started...cups, napkins, balloons, etc. And I juuuuust happened to have some red and white fabric leftover from Oliver's Circus Party which perfectly matched the Pinterest logo colors, score! 

Since the party supplies they sent were red and white, how fun would it be fun to theme out the food too. How about some red velvet cupcakes, red velvet cookies, and red licorice in mason jars with white ribbons :-) 

For project ideas I turned to my Pinterest boards of course! I wanted to do projects that any guest could enjoy doing and that would be easy enough to get done in a few hours time. I also wanted the projects to be for any skill level...so they would look great at the most basic level or amped up with all sorts of creativity.

The main project for the party was to make Burlap Pennant Banners.  I love that I was able to find laminated burlap rolls at Michaels in two colors, natural and cream. Did you know that Michaels carried burlap?

I also bought an assortment of stencils, paint, and paint brushes...

And a variety of pretty ribbon choices to hang the banners.

A second project idea for the party was to make cute ruffle-y burlap Christmas trees using cardboard tree forms, burlap, and hot glue.

And I also thought a super easy quick project would be to make glittered clothespins...I just love these things! They are so awesome for gift tags, advent calendars, showcasing Christmas cards, etc. Love. Love. Love.

I hope these ideas inspire you to host your own Pinterest party! It's the perfect time of year to throw one, you can get a bunch of holiday decor made all in one night or how about some of those handmade gift ideas you have been thinking about doing?

Thank you to Michaels for all the inspiration too...I just love wandering those aisles!!

 And here's a few tidbits of info from Michaels...

·         Michaels offers customizable party supplies like cups, napkins and balloons available online to personalize your event

·         Follow the hashtag #MPinterestParty to see how others are making their pins a reality

·         The Michaels Décor Guide has tons of ideas and projects to make spreading the holiday cheer throughout your house easy. Navigate through the online version, download a copy, or pick up one at your local Michaels!

Thanks for stopping by today!

 XOXO,

*Michaels provided a gift card for my party. All opinions are 100% my own.