One Year Blogiversary {HOLIDAY TAG GIVEAWAY}

In honor of our ONE YEAR BLOGIVERSARY coming up this Tuesday, we wanted to have another GIVEAWAY to say thank you to all of our readers, old and new.

We have two sets of 5 distressed angel holiday tags to give away, which means there will be TWO lucky winners!

Each tag measures 4 in x 2 in.

The perfect addition to any holiday gift!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN?

There won't be any jumping through hoops here.

Just LEAVE A COMMENT letting us know that you would like to win!

Comment entries will be accepted until midnight (MST) on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6th.

Winners will be announced here on the blog on Wednesday, December 7th, so keep a close watch!

This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere, as long as you can receive mail.  Just keep in mind that if you live outside of the United States, you may not receive the tags in time for Christmas this year, but you can always save them for next year!

(Please note:  These tags are for personal use only. Please do not sell or copy these tags exactly for your own monitary gain. Thank you.)

Thanks, again, to all of our loyal readers.

We couldn't (and wouldn't) have done it without you!

- Annie + Tammy -

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{Ghostie BOO Garland}



Here's a quick and easy-to-follow photo tutorial on how you can make your own Ghostie Boo Garland!

Tissues (2 for each ghost, layered)

Cotton balls (4 for each ghost head)

Floss or white thread (to tie around neck)

Black marker (to make eyes)

Embroidery floss (to string ghosties onto)

Long needle (to poke through ghostie neck)

Once all of the ghosties are strung, you can make "BOO" tags to hang inbetween each one, or you can leave it just as it is.

I stamped the word "BOO" in black ink onto bright orange card stock.

I cut a "V" shape at the bottom and used black chalk to distress the edges.  I then folded the top of the card stock over the string and stapled the paper together, close to the string, to keep it in place.

That's it!

Hang it somewhere spooky and awesome and you're good to go.

Most importantly...  have fun!

-Annie

*Click HERE to see the linky parties we participate in!*

Also.... Momnivore'sDilemma Halloween link party

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{Halloween Printing with Fruits + Veggies}

I was cleaning out the fridge today, about to throw away some carrots and apples that didn't get eaten (shh.. don't tell my mother!) and I thought

"Hey wait a minute, I can be crafty with these!"

And... so can you!

All you and your little punkin's need to make some printed Jack-o-Lantern's is an apple, a couple of carrots and some craft paint.

Cut some shapes into the thick end of the carrot. I cut a triangle and a rectangle.  The long carrot stem makes these "stamps" really easy for small hands to hold when stamping.

Slice off one side of the apple.  Don't cut too closely to the core or else your stamp will look like an apple instead of the pumpkin shape you are going for.

Then, take the apple slice you just cut off and cut it in half to make a curved mouth.  You can keep it just how it is or make a few notch/cuts to make teeth.

Spread some paint out onto paper plates, grab some white paper and get stamping!

Super-easy, super-fun.

If you cut out each individual pumpkin print (once it's dry of course) you can string them onto a garland, or make them into a magnet or even gift tags to tie onto a loaf of pumpkin chocolate-chip bread for your neighbors (or to send directly to me... mmm).

-Annie



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{Plum-Perfect Cupcakes}

I shared this recipe at Snips & Spice a little while back.
If you haven't made them yet.... do it!  They are delicious!
* * * * *

I’ve been toying around with the idea of a plum cupcake for a while now, and decided this was the perfect chance to experiment.

I have to say that I think these turned out really tasty. They have a plumb-perfect blend of sweetness {from the frosting} and tartness {from the filling}.

You’ll need to plan ahead a little for this recipe…the plum sauce takes about 10 minutes to make and at least an hour to chill in the fridge before it is cool enough to use.

{Plum Perfect Cupcakes}

1 white cake mix

3 fresh plums

8 oz cream cheese

1 cube butter, room temp

3 Tbsp prepared plumsauce (see below)

1 tsp vanilla

7-8 cups powdered sugar (approx 2 lbs)

First, you will need to make your plumsauce filling. Cut fruit (with skin) from the pit of 3 fresh plums and process in a blender or food processor until the skins are chopped and blended in. Pour into small saucepan, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the texture resembles that of applesauce.

Pour into separate bowl and refrigerate for one to two hours, until sauce is cool to the touch. To speed up the process, stir sauce a few times while it is cooling.

Next, preheat your oven and mix cake batter according to directions. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full, and bake for about 15-17 minutes at 350. My mix made 30 cupcakes.

Allow cupcakes to cool.

Reserve about 3 tablespoons of cooled plum sauce to add to your frosting.

To fill cupcakes, pour remaining plum sauce into a pastry bag with a round tip, stick tip directly into the center of the cupcake, and squeeze a little sauce into each one.

Once filled, your cupcakes are ready for frosting.

This recipe makes a large amount of frosting, because I like to swirl big heaps of it onto my cupcakes. Feel free to halve the recipe if you don’t want as much on yours.

{Frosting}

Mix cream cheese, butter, 3 Tbsp plumsauce, and vanilla with hand mixer until well-blended. Slowly add powdered sugar one cup at a time until thick enough to pipe and hold up.

Frost, Decorate, and Enjoy!

-Tammy

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{Spooky Party Treats}

Halloween is coming!  Hooray!  It is my favorite holiday.  I love being spooked.

Both Tammy's and my birthday are right around Halloween so we would always have combined Halloween costume birthday parties when we were young.  They were the best!  That might be why Halloween holds such a fun place in our hearts (thanks Mom!).

Here's a tutorial on how you can make your own simple Halloween party favors.

Gather your paper crafting supplies and a few plastic party favor boxes and get to work!

 

I found the cute Halloween creature head stamps at JoAnn's in the dollar section. Score!

Wrap the main paper around your favor box to determine the size you will need.

These boxes are 2" x 2" x 1".  They came in a 3-pack and were found in the party section at Dollar Tree.  Snip off the ugly, smashed bow that they come wrapped in and fill them with the candy of your choice (individually wrapped candy is best, as the insides of the boxes might not be clean).

I chose butterscotch hard candies because I'm secretly a 90 year old grandma.  Just kidding.  I love me some butterscotch!

Assemble all of your box wrappers and admire your awesome work... holy Halloween cuteness!

Wrap them around the boxes and secure them in back with a little tape.

Now hand them out at your Halloween party, give them to neighbors or take them to school to share with all of your best Halloween buddies!

Boo!

-Annie

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{Happy Mother's Day}

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(BLOSSOMS FRAME + printable for Mother's Day}

Looking for a quick and easy Mother's Day gift?

Well, look no further...

I found this unfinished frame at Michael's for $1.00.

I spray painted it glossy black, hot glued a few simple rosette blossoms made from fabric scraps (see a great tutorial here) and some loose pearls, and inserted a quote that will have meaning to our mom.

One of her favorite songs is "I Often Go Walking," a song we often sang as children at church around Mother's Day. Annie used her mad skillz to turn the last line of the song into art, so I printed it out and framed it. I then used some fabric scraps to hang the frame from.

I think our mom is gonna love it!

(I told her not to read our blog this week, so shhhhh....)

--Tammy

* * * * * * * * *

Here's the quote image if you'd like to print/use it for yourself:

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{Happy Easter}

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{SPRING FLING - Feature}

Today, we have the honor of being a guest host at
Mine For The Making!

A big thank you to Kara for allowing us to play at her "house" today!  :)

Here's a sneaky-peeky of what we made:

Oooh, exciting!

Click HERE to find the full tutorial and to get the free printable.

-Enjoy

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{5 Dollar Berry Wreath}

I made this wreath last SPRING and just pulled it out to hang up again this year.

It was originally made for a $5 dollar blog challenge so I decided to get all of my supplies at Dollar Tree.

Since Dollar Tree is currently selling these little berry bundles again, I thought I'd show you the tutorial so you can make one for yourself!

These tutorial pictures are fairly self-explanatory:

Buy and gather your supplies.

You will also need scissors and your trusty hot-glue gun.

then

Take caution, as the hot-glue can and will easily seep through the open berry spaces and will burn you.  I promise.

Also, I do NOT recommend making this wreath anywhere around small children!

The foam berry balls come off quite easily and roll right onto the ground.

They look like delicious candies.

I had to stop myself from eating them.....

just kidding

But, please... be super-duper careful!

To finish it off, tie a ribbon around the top and hang it up!

There are other colors of berries as well:   blue, pink, purple...  you could make any color combo you like, or keep it all one color.

It would also be cute as a table centerpiece with candles or a mossy nest and eggs placed in the center, perfect for Easter!

-Annie

*Click HERE to see the lovely linky parties we participate in!*

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