Closing Blog

Hi everyone!  We just wanted to let you all know that we are closing our blog.  With our busy families & work, we just can’t keep up with our blog anymore. Thank you so much for being AMAZING followers & readers, we will miss you!

Alisa & Briana

{{What I Made Wednesday}} #40

I hope you’re all enjoying your holiday season and you’re finding time to enjoy time with your loved ones, eat great food, and relax!

Here are some of the favorites from last week’s {{What I Made Wednesday}}:

Most viewed link:

{1} Home Grown Beanes:  Christmas Gift Ideas

Some favorites:

{2}   polkadots on parade:  Lollipop Tee

{3} Small Home Love:  Paper Doile Xmas Trees

{4} Shugary Sweets:  Almond Truffles

{5} The Brown Eyes Have It:  Cinnamon Bread

{6} Ladybird Ln.:  a-MAZE-ing Gift

{7}  About Blogging Time:  Tote Bag

If you were featured today, feel free to grab a button!

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Party guidelines:

1. You must be a follower of our blog.
   
2. Link up anything you’ve created (craft, DIY, recipe, decorating, or anything creative).  Please no Etsy shops or giveaways.
   
3. Link up to your specific post - not your main blog.
   
4. Please post our button or link back to our blog so more people can join in the fun.

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1. Leave some sweet comments on a few other link-ups! :) 
   
2. At the end of the week, the project that has received the most views will get their blog button on our sidebar for the next week!  You will be our {{Wednesday Winner}}!!  Yeah for free advertising!

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

This sugar cookie recipe is an absolute favorite at our house!  It is simple to make and tastes delicious! 

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 C. butter
• 1 C. vegetable oil
• 1 C. white sugar
• 1 C. powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 C. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. salt

1. Cream together butter, oil, sugar, and powdered sugar and whip until smooth and fluffy.  Beat in eggs (on at a time) and then stir in vanilla.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.  Stir into the sugar mixture until blended.  Cover and chill dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.

1. Roll dough into balls and roll into sugar.  Press ball with the open end of a plastic thread spool.  Dip the spool into sugar each time to prevent sticking.
2. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Do not over bake!

 

What I Made Wednesday

Thank you so much to all those who linked up last week!! 

Now onto the favorites…

The Most Viewed Link-up

The Sewing Loft did a how-to on a cookie swap!  They created some sweet treats & even shared a recipe for the cute green eggs & ham!  She was the most clicked on link and wins FREE advertising on our blog….check it out on the upper right hand side!  Congrats!

Our Favorites

Babblings and More showed off their fabulous Christmas craft for kiddos…and it was edible too!  Love it! 

I am loving these powdered sugar stenciled cookies!  I NEED to make some of these!!  Great job Burton Avenue!

Isn’t this rolled paper Christmas tree great???  And so easy too!!  Adventures of a DIY Mom was inspired!

Now onto this week’s party…

Here are the details:

• **NEW**  You must be a follower of our blog.
  
• Everything you link up must be made by you.
  
• Link up to your specific post - not your main blog. (Please no Etsy shops or giveaways)
  
• Please post our button or link back to our blog so more people can join in the fun.
  

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• Visit at least 2 of the other participants and leave them a comment to show your LOVE!  We all love getting comments!!
  
• **NEW** At the end of the week, the project that has received the most views will get their blog button on our sidebar for the next week!  You will be our {{Wednesday Winner}}!!  Yeah for free advertising! (:
  

Also, if you’ve been featured, don’t forget to grab our button!

<a border="0" href="http://sweetpeasandbb.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee450/sweetpeasandbb1/FeaturedButton-1.jpg" /></a>

Christmas Magic Sign

With Christmas quickly approaching, I’m glad I can say that I am FINALLY finished with my Christmas Magic sign.  This project was super simple to make and looks amazing in our living room!  Although, next year I’m going to start crafting in November so that my new crafts can be enjoyed for a little bit longer! :)  Anyone else feel like the holidays have snuck up on them this year?!

Want to make your own?

Materials Needed:

• 1/2” plywood cut into a 19” square
• Beadboard cut into a 11” square
• Black acrylic paint
• Wood glue
• Painbrush
• Ribbon
• Metal scroll
• Wreath
• White ornament
• White vinyl
• Mod Podge (optional)

After your wood has been cut to the correct dimensions, sand all of the edges so that they are smooth and slightly rounded.

Using a black acrylic paint, paint the front and edges of both the plywood and beadboard.  {I like to use a foam paintbrush because it is easy to use and they can be used for both the paint and Mod Podge part of this project.}

After the paint has dried completely, sand the edges down to get a distressed look.  Now, using wood glue, center the beadboard to the center of the plywood.  Let it dry completely.

Using a vinyl cutter, cut out the saying for the top and bottom of the project using white vinyl.  Weed the vinyl and adhere it to the wood.

To ensure that your vinyl does not come off, apply a thin coat of Mod Podge over all of the wooden surface.  Let it dry completely.

Using a few dots of hot glue, attach your wreath to the center of the beadoard.  And now for the fun part…

GLITTER SPRAY! =)  Love this stuff!  Spray an even coat over the entire project.  {And this stuff needs to be sprayed in a well ventilated area….I learned that the hard way! :)  }

Now for the last step…drill holes at the top of your project to attach your metal scroll {which I found at my sister’s local craft store}.  Using red and black ribbon, attach the scroll to the top of the project.  Wa-La!  Cute sign, ready to go! :)

I LOVE decorating for the holidays!  I have a few more quick projects to post in the next week so stay tuned! =) 

Crockpot Lasagna Soup

I have been having requests for this recipes lately….so I decided to share this yumminess with you!  I made this combining several different recipes & turning it into a crockpot recipe & IT IS DIVINE!!!  It tastes so much like lasagna without the work & hassle of the real thing!  I am pretty sure you will see this soup on my menu frequently!

Crockpot Lasagna Soup

• 1 lb ground hamburger
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 Tbs brown sugar, firmly packed
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups broken lasagna noodles
• 1 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large pan, combine hamburger, onion & garlic.  Cook until hamburger is browned & cooked through.  Drain well.

Add to crockpot: Hamburger mixture, thyme, brown sugar, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt.  Cook on High for 4-6 hours.  20 minutes before you are ready to eat, add broken lasagna noodles, cover & cook until noodles are tender.  Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Serve & Enjoy!

Optional:

Preheat broiler.  Ladle soup into ovenproof bowls.  Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Broil soup until cheese is browned and bubbly.  Server & Enjoy!!

Teacher Gift

This is the first year that I’ve had to think about a teacher gift.  And, because I procrastinate, I’m just now getting my little guy’s gift for his preschool teacher put together.  So, I was on the lookout for a simple yet cute idea, when I stumbled upon this perfect idea from lisa storms…

Cute idea, right?!?!  So, we went shopping for our own version and found a great sale on these cute insulated cups…

So, crisis adverted….we found a cute gift just in the nick of time! =)   Thank good for Pinterest and other amazing bloggers!

Ipad for $43.00

 

Awhile ago I stumbled up an AMAZING website for great deals!  Year around they have fantastic prices on great products!  However, during Christmas, their deals are even SWEETER!!!

They just had an….

•  Ipads that sold for $43.00
• Bravia 52” HDTVs for $59.96

Just today….Nikon coolpix cameras for $6.00

I am completely Blown Away by how great their deals are!

Click on the link below & don’t forget to sign up so you don’t miss out on these HOT deals!!!!!

No More Rack

Visiting Teaching Gift {towel & coasters}

I have been on the lookout for some great gifts to give the sisters I visit teach!  When I came upon a tutorial for a stay-put kitchen towel, I knew it would be perfect.  Tutorial here.  I decided to use a Christmas towel that I found…which would be perfect for this time of year!

I wanted to add a little more to this gift…so I made some tile coasters.  They turned out adorable!

I folded the towel, added the coasters on top, with a bottle of Bath & Body Works soap, a beautiful Visiting Teaching message I found here, and tied it up with some Christmas ribbon!  I hope they enjoy their Christmas gift!

{{What I Made Wednesday}} #38

It’s that time of the week again….time for us to share some of your amazing projects AND time for you to show us what you’ve been up to.  You are all amazing! =)

Our weekly favorites…

These Chocolate Peppermint Grahams from Shugary Sweets look amazingly delicious!  And what’s even better?!  They are SUPER easy to make….I think we’ll be making these for my little guy’s Christmas program tomorrow!  Also, be sure to check out all of the other amazing recipes from Shugary Sweets….her blog button is on our sidebar since she had the most viewed link of the week!

This quick and easy Christmas Charger from Burton Avenue is amazing!  I love the contrast of the bright red and the green tree in the middle!  I actually just bought this same charger from Wal-Mart for $1 last week…I think this is my next holiday project.  Thanks so much for the inspiration…it turned out beautiful!!

These glass Christmas trees from Alderberry Hill turned out amazing!  They are incredibly creative and yet such an easy project to complete with this simple tutorial!

I have been eyeing all of the yarn wreaths on Pinterest lately!  They are such a creative twist on the traditional wreath.  So, this wreath from Not 2 Shabby Crafts really caught my eye in this week’s link-ups.  I love the untraditional color scheme….how fun!

Ready to link up your latest and greatest?

Here are the rules…

• You must be a follower of our blog.
  
• Everything you link up must be made by you.
  
• Link up to your specific post - not your main blog. (Please no Etsy shops or giveaways)
  
• Please post our button or link back to our blog so more people can join in the fun.

<a border="0" href="http://sweetpeasandbb.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee450/sweetpeasandbb1/FeaturedButton-160.jpg" /></a>

• Visit at least 2 of the other participants and leave them a comment to show your LOVE!  We all love getting comments!!
  
• At the end of the week, the project that has received the most views will get their blog button on our sidebar for the next week!  You will be our {{Wednesday Winner}}!!  Yeah for free advertising! (:

Also, if you’ve been featured, don’t forget to grab our button!

<a border="0" href="http://sweetpeasandbb.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee450/sweetpeasandbb1/LinkyPartyButton-160.jpg" /></a>

Classroom Series: Mummy Door

Any of you fellow elementary teachers out there know how time consuming our jobs can be.  That being said, I haven’t had much time for crafting lately (although I do have a few fun projects that I’m getting ready to post)!  In fact, my only computer time lately has been entering grades on the computer….and pinning a few pins on Pinterest! =)   So, that is why I’ve been a little absent lately in the blogging world AND why I’m just now posting about my Halloween themed door! =)  You don’t mind, right??!?! =)

So, since my 28 students have been occupying most of my free time, I thought I would start to show you some fun activities we’ve been working on in third grade.  A lot of the activities would be very easy to do at home with your own kiddos! 

Here is the start of my “Classroom Series” where I’ll feature some fun activities used in my classroom…

This door went along with our Red Ribbon Week in October, but would be super simple to use for the Halloween season.  My students LOVED this door and it was super easy to make.

Orange paper covered the entire door.  Then, strips of cream construction paper were used to create the mummy effect.  The font is my all time favorite, Love Ya Like A Sister.  I use that font for seriously everything! =)