Me like to eat Valentines Monster Box!

Hiddy,

It is soon to be Valentine's day and I am making a monster Valentine box for sweet son. First, I spray painted it. I used black.  I cut out a mouth for the monster.

 I then made a template from construction paper to go around the cereal box.  I did this free-hand on one side and then I traced the other side.  Leave a space in the middle of the template for the bottom of the cereal box.

Now cut teeth from felt and glue on the inside of the template.  I used felt because it is soft for little ones hands to put Valentines in.  Yes, I used some scraps I had that say GIRL but you won't see this when the box is complete!

Glue each side to the cereal box.  The little meany is coming along....

Every monster has to have a unibrow and one eye, right?

A little bad grammar from your monster and he is ready to eat a bunch of Valentines!

Happy Valentines Day!

Owl Always Love You Valentine Box

Hi owl all,

It is soon to be Valentine's day and I am making an owl Valentine box for dd.  First, I cut a cereal box in half and I spray painted it.  I only had Robin Egg Blue so that is what I used.

Next, I used an owl template to make an owl "frame."  Another template can be found here at Miri-d.

I then decorated it with scrapbook paper.  I made hearts for the eyes!

I cut out a long rectangular piece of cardboard to make a handle.  Then I glued the owl to the box.

All done and dd will love it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Country Crock is giving away 100 dollars!

At Burgh Baby, she is making an awesome macaroni dish and giving away 100 dollars via Country Crock!

check it out!  http://www.theburghbaby.com/burghbaby/greek-macaroni-n-cheese-and-a-giveaway.html

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT!

Over at A Southern Lady's Ramblings she is cooking up something in the kitchen you don't normally see:  LAUNDRY DETERGENT!  Check it out!

http://asouthernladysramblings.blogspot.com/2011/07/homemade-laundry-soap.html

Staples Back To School Sale!

Staples Back To School Sale 7/10


One Penny Sale (Sunday – Wednesday) Limit 2 Each *$5 Minimum Purchase




Staples Arrowhead Cap Erasers (Pink) – 12/Pack – $0.01

Staples School Glue (4oz.) – $0.01

Bic Round Stic Ball Point Pens (Black 8/Pack) – $0.01

$0.25 Specials (All Week) Limit 2 Each



Slider Pencil Case Assorted Colors $0.25

Bic Student Choice Mechanical Pencils (5/Pack) – $0.25

Stickies 1/2″ Tape Flags (Assorted Colors) – $0.25

2-Pocket Poly Folder (Assorted Colors) – $0.25

$1 Specials (All Week) Limit 2 Each



Staples Mini-Stapler (Assorted Colors) – $1

Staples Paper Clips (Assorted Colors and Sizes) – $1

Westcott 5″ Scissors (2/Pk.) – $1

Westcott 5″ Scissors 7″ – $1

Staples Glue Sticks 4/pk. – $1

Sharpie Permanent Markers – Fine Tip/Black 5/Pack – $1

Staples 3-Hole Binder Punch – $1

Staples Mini Writing Pads, Legal Ruled (3.5″ x 5.25″) Yellow 3/Pack – $1

Staples Letter-Size Writing Pad – $1

Staples 5.5″ x 4.25″ Fat Memmo Book (200 Sheets) – $1

Post-It Die-Cut Notes (2/Pk.) – $1

Top – Bound Journal With Pen (Assorted Colors) – $1

$2 Specials (All Week) Limit 2



Crayola Write Start Colored Pencils 8/Pack – $2

Staedtler Xcellence 10-piece Math Set – $2

Zebra Z-Grip Animal Print Ballpoint Retractable Pens 5/Pack – $2

Staples RollerBall Pens (0.7mm-black) 12/pk. – $2

Staples Hype Retractable Highlighters (4/pk.) Assorted – $2

Staples 3″x5″ Faux Leather Memo Book 80-Sheets – $2

Staples 3.4″ x 3.4″ memo Pad- Twirl – $2

Easy Rebate Deals: (Limit 2)



Staples 8.5″ x 11″ Multipurpose Paper 500 Sheets/Ream – $5.99

Send-in for a $5.74 Staples Easy Rebate

$0.25 each after Staples Easy Rebate



HP Everyday 8.5″ x 11″ Photo Paper (50/Pack) – $9.99

Send-In for a $8.99 Staples Easy Rebate

$1 after Rebate



All Back Packs 25%-50% Off




Staples 1′, 1.5″, and 2″ Better Binder Buy 2 Get 1 Free

Thanks goes to Frugal Living and Having Fun!

Recycled Playdough Container Wreath!

Recycled Playdough Container Wreath by Heather

 When you visit Infarrantly Creative, Jaime from That's My Letter guest-posted with this wonderfully colored wreath that is made from recycled playdough containers and dollar store plastic tablecloths! It is weatherproof, and hangs on an outdoor playset, I love it! [how to make a recycled playdough container wreath]

It is very cute and ingenious!

Blessings,

A Butterfly In My Stomach

Free Bottle of Hyland’s Cold ‘n Cough 4 Kids

Get a Free Bottle of Hyland’s Cold n Cough 4 Kids!! Just clck the link which will take you to the Mothering.com page  and Hyland's and then follow the instructions.

Do you have it bad? Read this!

Hey all,

Yes I am back.   I needed just a *little*  (o.k. 48 days is a long time in blogosphere) break from my blog.  I am back, recharged, and ran over this post on Whitehot Truth.

The title:  why you’re privileged: perspective from the dark side

I know I love to send out moneysaving, timesaving, thrifting, and God-inspiring tidbits.  But this is, well, what it is:  a perspective from the dark side.

Here is what Danielle Laporte wrote:


why you’re privileged: perspective from the dark side


If you're reading this, the highest probability is that you are living in the western world, above the poverty line, in a democratic environment.


Your heart may be broken, you may not have enough money to get to the end of the week, you may be fighting for your life.


But by many accounts - you are extremely fortunate.
By many accounts, you and I have every advantage to be happy, healthy, and deeply fulfilled.


Somewhere else...

: Are you gay? If you're found out, you will get jail time.
: If you were unfaithful to your spouse, you would be stoned, likely by your neighbours.
: Want to convert to a religion other than the one you were born in to? That would warrant execution.
: Thirsty? Clean water is five miles away. Walk to get it. You have one bucket.
: You may want to play soccer with the other boys your age, but you have weapons training.
: Have you complained about the government in an email? You're going to court.


Women...


: Long to be thin, to run in the sun? Forget it, men in your village like large women and you are force fed.
: Raped? Refuse a marriage proposal? If you're lucky, they won't kill you, they'll just throw acid in your face.
: Long for (word omitted by me) pleasure? It's difficult since your grandmother cut out your clitoris with a razor blade when you were twelve.
: If you're menstruating, you will miss school rather than face the ridicule.
: You can't get a job because by law, women are considered "half the value of men". Hey (she used another word), you can't even vote. You can't even look a man directly in the eyes.


We could go on with the atrocities and restrictions -- from the extremes of human trafficking (the average American girl is thirteen when she is forced into sex slavery,) and torture, to what we consider basic health-care, like clean needles and dentistry. The heck (she used another word) that is Haiti, and parts of Uganda, Sierra Leone, West Bengal...and our own cities...






Sometimes, the most direct route to appreciation is through the darkness - even if it's merely imagined. Facts, faced: even in our struggles, most of us are privileged. We have so many rights, must we exercise the right to complain?






I'm writing this from an airport because I missed my flight - which derails my luxurious escape plans for a day. I'm lucky to have plans, to be sitting by a $2 million dollar sculpture, in a gun-free airport, drinking my peppermint tea, in a new warm coat, using free wifi. I'll choose to be appreciative.


Your mother had the right idea: eat your dinner, there are children starving in the world.


That fresh salad you get with your entree; the insurance on your car; the clothes you wear, where you want; the hands you hold in public.


That vaccination scar on your arm.


Your innocence.


The light you're reading by.


Really, what's the worst of your problems?


Perspective isn't everything in terms of have's and have nots. But you can work it to your very great advantage.

 
Wow, how bad do we have it, really?  God bless you all!

A Presence A Day: Homemade Christmas Star Cookie Wreath : Day 12

Is this star COOKIE wreath so adorable?



Cookie wreath made by The Farm Chicks!



The tutorial made by The Farm Chicks is here!

Mt 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.



I love how this verse says the star went before them....We all have a star within us...our soul.  Also, our soul has Jesus in it or it doesn't.  Our soul is saved or it is not saved.  Our soul is seeking the young child or it isn't.
 
I am so glad when I first heard THE king that I departed from old self (flesh) and followed the star to where Jesus was and is!  A lot of times I say, "All I know for sure is that I am saved!"  I know this for a surety!  Thank you Lord for bringing salvation down to me and countless others.
 
God bless your Christmas!

A Presence A Day: Homemade Candy Dish: Day 11

How does this look?



1997 “Good Thing” feature from Martha Stewart

 






















Want to make it? YES?  OK!  The tutorial is here!  Thanks goes to Keen Inspirations and Creations!



Keen Inspirations and Creations made this!

 

























This lovely dish is great for entertaining.  Entertaining is mentioned in the Bible too (nice segway, huh?)!

Heb 13:2  Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Now, I always assumed this meant to have company over and be a gracious host.  This verse could include that assumption....BUT the verse is bigger than that...

Being a preacher's wife, I have been more open to people than I ever have in my life.  When I say "open"  I  mean that I really listen and I try (don't always) to put myself in their place...to see where that person is coming from.  There are countless times that I have had "encounters" with people that have helped me spiritually. I hope I have returned the favor and have helped them too!  Help people, not just family...I know family is important, don't forsake them, BUT there is a SPIRITUAL FAMILY also.  How often do you entertain your SPIRITUAL FAMILY?  If you don't even know what I am talking about, you may be estranged! 

Do you donate clothes to a charity (Goodwill, St. Vincent De Paul, Good Samaritan)

Do you help stock the food pantries in the community (Grayson has very low donations this year!)

Do you visit nursing homes?  I haven't in a while, but we are going to get back to it.

Don't only use your home to entertain angels (although this is VERY important as an example for your children to follow) but every activity in your day could be used to help others.  Also, when you do help someone, don't look for instant gratification....actually, don't look for any reward.  Do your alms(deeds) in secret and your father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly (hint: your reward may not be monetary!).  Jesus helped us all, and his reward was the cross. So carry your cross, and use Jesus as your example.

In a traffic jam?  pray to God and get the cobwebs out of your spirit (not judging, if you pray all the time lift me up too!). 

Nasty coworker?  Something has happened to them (probably something very bad) that has shaped them.  Put your spiritual glasses on.  There was a phase in my life that I always tried to be as Jesus and I would try to "see" them as Jesus would....It was a rewarding time...I need to do it again...

Kids acting rude, rebellious, and ungrateful?   How did YOU act at their age..Understand where they are at and talk WITH them not AT them...Then after you have bonded, DISCIPLINE them (they may have had a bad day, but they need to know that disrespecting parents is never tolerated --take phones, computer time, and games away as examples)

Disconnected from your BETTER HALF?  Pray together. If he/she refuses, YOU pray!  God can change your heart.... You may think that God needs to help your spouse in a certain area but he may be wanting to change you.  Pray to him to find out.

We all have the choice everyday to entertain strangers....what will you do with it?

God bless your Christmas!

A Presence A Day: Homemade Casseroles: Day 10

Do you have a neighbor ( hint:  a neighbor is not someone that necessarily lives next door to you!) that is TIRED of cooking and you just LOVE to cook all the time ( I know this is a stretch, but bear with me!)?  Have you ever given someone an unexpected gift?  Do you give your mailman a present?  Do you give your Sunday School teacher a gift?  Do you give your Librarian a present?  Do you give someone UNSUSPECTED a gift?

YOU COULD!  Make them a covered dish!  It would give them a night off during this joyful but BUSY time of the year.  Here are a few recipes.  After the recipe is assembled, cover with the dish lid or with foil.  Give them a card and tell them what temp and how long to cook the dish made with love. IMPORTANT NOTE:  Increase the cooking time by 15 minutes if you have refrigerated it!!!!

Midwest Living has a great Chicken and Wild Rice Recipe here!

Or make a breakfast or brunch for someone with this recipe:  Morning Pecan Casserole



Or make them Hashbrown Casserole (this has ham in it, so it will pass as MAIN MEAL!)







Or do you want to give a pie that is a main dish?  Check out this Inside-Out Spaghetti Pie.



Luke 10:29 But he (the RICH MAN to JESUS), willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

We all have views of what a neighbor is, but what is Jesus' view?  He didn't answer the rich man's question, but he gave him a story (Jesus always wants us to decide what to do, he doesn't force us to believe his way). 

 A man, going to Jericho, fell among thieves.  They beat him and took all that he had.  Three different people passed by the beaten man:  Priest (man of high office/ranking), Levite (man from the lineage of Jesus Christ), and Samaritan (man that was reviled by most, lowly).  We all know the Samaritan helped the man in need.  Then Jesus asks the rich man this:  Luke 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?  The rich man replies with this:  Luke 10:37  And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.   Then Jesus ends with this reply:  Luke 10:37 Go, and do thou likewise.

Did Jesus just pick these three guys out of a hat?  NO!  He chose one with high rank, one with the same lineage as himself, and one with no rank at all.  The rich man could be classified with the priest (my opinion), but Jesus asked the rich man, "who was the neighbour?"  The rich man said  "He that shewed mercy on him."  So no matter your class, you know what to do.  DOING it is the hard part.  So show mercy as much and often as you can....someone is depending on it!

God bless your Christmas!

A Presence A Day: Homemade Brown Bag Gifts(to make with kids): Day 9

Here is a neat little project to get the kids involved in making gifts.  These gift bags can be given to loved ones, people you visit when caroling, people in the nursing home, or anyone you choose!

Supplies:

brown paper sacks
ribbon
jingle bells
puff stickers with glitter
markers to write Merry Christmas
hole punch
goodies (candy canes, chocolate, fruit, pencils, notebook, etc.)

Design the outside of the brown sack.  Near the top, punch holes to place the ribbon on it.  Tie bells to the end of the ribbon.  Put your special treats in the sack.  Tie it up and give to someone you love!

Mrs. Nicole is helping everyone make their bags!

designing their bags...they are having a good time!

the boys are having a blast making theirs!

decorating still in process!

cute smile while working diligently!

stamping Christmas trees!

having a great time at Christmas!

Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

God bless your Christmas!

A Presence A Day: Homemade Flower/Rosettes: Day 8

There are so many fab tutorials to make flowers from fabric:

Our Best Bites makes a rolled flower from fabric here!

Lex makes one here!



Wise Craft makes one here!

Make It Do makes a great peony from ribbon here!



Luke 2:1 ¶ And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)


3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.


4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)


5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.


6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.


7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

I don't have much to say today (shock, I know!) but I just wanted us all to read about the FIRST CHRISTMAS! 

On that silent night that Christ was born, this day was not even called CHRISTMAS!  The word "Christmas" is a combination of the words "Christ" and "Mass. The word "Mass" means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church.  Christmas was actually PAGAN, but thanks to Pope Martin Luther (1517) he started a reformation to take out the paganism of Christmas (THANK YOU MARTIN LUTHER).
So, I just want to remind us of Jesus' birth...it means so much to me...I hope it means a lot to you too!

God bless your Christmas!

A Presence A Day: Homemade Sugar Cookies: Day 7

A great Christmas present to make for your special loved ones is sugar cookies.  This is not any "normal" (how is my build-up?) sugar cookie.  This is the best recipe for sugar cookies ever!  IT IS!  Try it and tell me if I am wrong!

I had some help from MOM ADVISE on this recipe. We made some Saturday morning and all of them said they were the best sugar cookie they have ever eaten.  Even Hubby liked it!




put 3/4 cup sugar in a mixer and pulverize it to make super fine sugar



Add 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and 1/4 tsp of salt

Add 2 stick of butta

your mixture will be course and crumble-ly-ish..then add 2tablespoons of cream cheese and 2 tsp of vanilla extract

form into two disks and refrigerate for 15 minutes

Place between to sheet of wax paper...

make sure the shiny side is facing up...less stick...you don't have to use extra flour!

roll out your dough...

decorate to your liking...

press and roll again...

we were getting tired of rolling so much, so I made dough into balls and pressed them into sprinkles...

and they turned out cute too!

These cookies won't get to see tomorrow!

Prov 20:17 ¶ Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.

When I am eating a cookie (who am I kidding, eating a half-dozen!) it is so good, so yummy, and it can't be bad, right?  There are other "things" that are good in the moment but have a consequence, which may not be favorable. 

Bread of deceit is sweet to a man means  "any good obtained by deceit, or any good which deceives in its possession."  Bread of deceit is unjustly gotten gain.  Have you ever been deceived or has someone gained advantage from you?  We all can say yes and we all can, if we look closely enough, think of a time we may have partaken of the bread of deceit AGAINST someone. 

For whatever actions you may have, they have a very real influence on their doers.  Your actions modify character and form your habits.  They will drag after you a whole trail of consequences. Each strikes inwards and works outwards.

'A sower went forth to sow,' and 'Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.' The seed may lie long dormant, but the green shoots will appear in due time, and pass through all the stages of  'first the blade, and then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear.' The sower has to become the reaper, and the reaper has to eat of the bread made from the product of the long past sowing. Shall we have to reap a harvest of poisonous tares, or of wholesome wheat?  Before tempted to do evil take a momentary pause to see if you want to harvest that crop!  If you sow corruption you will also reap corruption.

If you have been deceived by others, do not render evil for evil.  Why?  Because he that has eaten the sweet bread of deceit will later have a mouth filled with gravel...let me tell you, a mouth filled with gravel is painful.  God will recompense...not you. 

God bless your Christmas!


Here is the recipe per Mom Advise:

Perfect Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)


Recipe says it will yield approximately 3 dozen cookies. I doubled the recipe & got 32 cookies with my cookie cutters. The amount of cookies will definitely depend on your cookie cutter sizes!


2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup superfine sugar (just whipped 1 cup sugar in the food processor until it was blended and then measured out 3/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ pieces & softened
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract



Whisk the flour, sugar, & salt together in a large bowl. Beat the butter into the flour mixture, one piece at a time using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, then continue to beat until the mixture looks crumbly and slightly wet, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the cream cheese & vanilla until he dough just begins to form large clumps, about thirty seconds.



Knead the dough in the large bowl by hand a few times until it forms a large, cohesive mass. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter, divide it in half, and apt into a two four inch disks. Wrap the disks tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until they begin to firm up, 20 to 30 minutes.



Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375. Work with one disk at a time, roll out the dough to a 1/8″ thickness between two sheets of parchment paper. Slide the rolled dough and parchment onto a baking sheet & refrigerate again until firm.



Working with one sheet of dough at a time cut out shapes using cookie cutters and lay on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 1″ apart. Bake the cookies until light golden brown, about ten minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.



Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely, about thirty minutes. When cooled, the cookies can be decorated as desired.


****************
Sugar Cookie Frosting

4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup shortening
5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Food coloring

In a large bowl, cream together confectioners sugar and shortening until smooth. Gradually mix in milk and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff, about five minutes. Color with food coloring if desired.

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