i have a thing for buttons

aren't these cute?  i sure thought so.  a fun way to use your buttons and brighten someones day!  The colors on the buttons could go along with a theme, holiday or just because you have some laying around. Click here to download this print. (Each sheet makes two cards.) Cut the sheet in half and fold the two cards. Attach some colorful buttons with hot glue and round the card's corners if you want. 

enjoy!  

My postings may be a  little hit and miss the next month or so.  We have alot going on --remodeling, packing/moving (don't worry, not far!) ...but honestly with us thats just ever 10 months! But, we are getting closer to financial peace with each step of the way...Dave Ramsey would be so proud!

free fill in the blank printable invite!

download a free petal invitation over here.  This would be a fun idea for a neighborhood get together invite, small family get together, a girls night....or anything really.  This is a cute way to still hand out/send an invitation with the expense of buying them.  super cute.

Window Display & VEISHEA.

Have you ever seen something and thought "i. must. copy. that?!" This will be a must in our home someday.   I don't like the colors she choose for it, but something SUPER easy to copy! Check out here to find out how this is made and other great ideas:

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my hubby & I are college sweethearts and alumni from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.  We love it here for a number of different reasons.  One of those reasons is VEISHEA. 

VEISHEA is an annual celebration held at Iowa State each spring, and one of its oldest traditions. It serves as a showcase and display of the Iowa State community with a wide variety of educational and entertainment events. It stands for: 

Veterinary Medicine
Engineering
Industrial Science
Home Economics
Agriculture

We took FULL advantage of the nice weather and attended a few events through the week.  

1. BBQ'd on central Campus--we took Tucker out two times last week and ate on central campus.  it was so much FUN being back on campus.  Tuesday we met up with my mom for lunch then Thursday we met up with my sister (who happens to graduate in two weeks!)  

the picture below of central campus for the bbq's

 2.  parade...who could forget the parade.  it was a BEAUTIFUL Day so we took our little guy out and spent the day on campus.  After the parade we walked around central campus got a free dirt cup from the ag tent, saw some friends, ate our picinic lunch on the lawn, and attended the petting zoo!  it was one of those perfect family days. overall it was a GREAT weekend!  

3. Small Group Reunion:  Friday night we were able to get together with out first small group.  It was SO good to see everyone.  We all met & started meeting together regularly roughly five years ago.  We were all newlyweds anxiously wanting to start our families.  We were so blessed to start our married years together.  On our way home from the evening we both commented how we were able to jump right back into conversations with everyone like it was yesterday.  

 

stud muffin

Stud Muffin

my husband loves muffins, especially triple berry.  so when I came across this idea i knew I had to try it.  With the help of my Boppa (grandpa) I made the little wooden box (out of 2 X4's also know as the "studs" ) showed down below.  My husband LOVED this.  Although, I get too excited and usually end up telling him my cute/romantic ideas BEFORE I actually do them...i gotta stop doing that! :-) this was very inexpensive project as well. 

                                                    

                                                   Stud=The 2X4's

                                                   Muffin= Your HUBBY!

                                                   STUD MUFFIN!

 here is the wooden box with a close up...

 and I wrote a little note with it...

Any which way you cut it
Measure it however you can
You have certainly nailed it
As my lovin' STUD MUFFIN man!

choose a career using your favorite colors!

every once in awhile i come across these silly (yet entertaining) quizzes to take.  this one takes less than two minutes and was pretty fun to see the results. I found my results to be pretty dead on.  

Click {here} to take this test.   you will need to enter an e-mail address.  i entered a "junk" email account i have. then, click "no thanks" to get your results!

You're a CREATOR

Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or whether they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

• Section I: You and Your Team
  This personality overview section highlights your natural workplace talents—the tasks you pursue with passion. You'll learn how your natural strengths complement those of your coworkers and how, joining forces, you can resolve on-the-job dilemmas.
• Section II: Your Key To Success
  Here you discover your capacity for dispelling disruption and maximizing profitability. Use this proven, beyond-self-perception advice to create a more positive career path free of detours.
• Section III: Managing Strengths and Weaknesses
  Your evaluation's highest and lowest scores result in this section's recommendations for staying on-track in your career and reversing wrong turns. In focusing on your talents and missteps, you'll re-stoke your energy and enthusiasm for managing costly mistakes.
• Section IV: Leadership Power Moves
  This final section identifies your "street sense," those power moves that turn obstacles into insignificant details. Here suggestions based on your color-ranked evaluations will guide you towards making the most of an interview or harnessing your fast-paced workday.

 

 What did you think of your results?!

avoiding the mom made lookin' cake

 CAKE

i love to be inspired by creative women.  i get easily inspired (shocker, i  know!) and I can't wait to try this latest idea on the next cake I bake. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am no baker, in fact I usually try to steer away from it.  However, I am trying to get better at it, cause darn it I want to be known for a good dish or two :-) 

Enter Texas Monkey  

She was able to take this...

and turn it into this....

 or this...

She had great tips & tons of pictures of her finished cake products. check her out {here}

Later Taters!

give it a shot, you have nothing to loose!

two fun finds: 

1.Adding baking soda to your shampoo

Did you know by adding baking soda to your shampoo 2-3 times a month is good for it? Me neither! Baking Soda hair wash method is a woman's best friend when it comes to hair care. A baking soda hair wash will clean out the excess product, remove impurities, and clean your hair better then any expensive product on the market.  I gave this little anomaly a try and I was very happy with the results.

what I did:  sprinkle a dash of baking soda into your palm and mix with your shampoo. Rinse and condition as usual.  try this out a few times a month to get rid of hairspray build up!  On a complete side note...imagine my husbands reaction when he sees me heading to the shower with a bath towel and a box of baking soda! :-)  source

2. Lemonade packet

Original purpose: Quenching your thirst.
 Aha! use: Cleaning lime deposits and iron stains inside the dishwasher. Pour a packet of lemonade Kool-Aid (the only flavor that works) into the detergent cup and run the (empty) dishwasher.
 Reward: Citric acid in the mix wipes out stains; you don't have to.tried this too..it really worked.  pretty cool, huh?  source

Do you have any others that might be interesting?  

how to make chalkmugs and etc.

a few weeks ago I tested out chalkboard paint.  i gotta tell you, i love the stuff.  i bought 5 frames @ a garage sale last weekend for 1.00 and they are just itchin' to become chalkboards! :-)  

chalkboard mugs!

 **I must tell you this was my first time experimenting with chalkboard paint, so it didn't turn out as perfect as i would of liked, but i learned ALOT.  but there is always the a first for everything, right?! :-) **

Also...my camera is dying so please excuse the cruddy pictures!

My Latest project, which was inspired from fireflies and jellybeans  {here} i think these would be perfect for:

gifts favors
fun sayings around the house
just because gifts
or teacher gifts with little goodies! 
or just for little saying around the kitchen!   

Supplies:

Mugs (got mine at Dollar General in Ankeny for $1.00)

Painter's tape

Sand paper (Optional)  **(wish i wouldn't of skipped this step)

Primer **(wished i wouldn't of skipped this step) ---I am too impatient at times! :-(

Chalkboard paint (you can get this at most hardware, or craft stores)

1. tape off the mug where you want the chalk to be painted

2.) sand lightly

3.) prime area

 (again, i skipped those steps and wish i haden't_)

 let primer dry according to directions.  Spray paint according to directions on can.  let dry.

Rub some chalk all over the area you painted and wipe off to set the chalkboard paint up.

then...enjoy!

i filled mine with jellybeans & gave it to a friend on her birthday.  super easy & not too expensive!

Easter Rewind:

We had a great Easter weekend.  We were able to get in both sides of the family ---which was nice.  Saturday night we attended Cornerstone's church Easter drama---boy, they never disappoint.  They always amaze us!  We ended up having a sibling sleep over at our house ...which is always fun! Here are my siblings and myself at my little brothers play a few weeks ago.  Don't know why, but we didn't get Ryan in that one!  

Sunday morning I tried a new recipe from Pioneer Woman's website--her monkey rolls.  And, like always she did not disappoint!  click here for this stinkin easy but AMAZING recipe!

Sunday we attended our home church then headed to the Rhoads Easter for lunch.  My Uncle Paul & Aunt Vickie did a GREAT job serving everyone!  My husband was really excited when over a dozen football players showed up too! :-)  on the way home he was telling Tucker how excited he is for football already! :-)   so cute.  

Sunday afternoon we headed to Radcliffe to Ryan's family & had a great time there as well.  His grandparents were back from Arizona and REALLY excited to see Tucker. :-)  My mother in law cooked another amazing meal!  Here is our little guy on his first Easter!  

Hope you got to enjoy this beautiful day! 

What projects have YOU been working on lately?  love to see/get new ideas!

Two Favorite posts...so far this week!

  Flowers:

Honesty, who doesn't love getting flowers? I love this idea not only for decoration but as a gift as well!  Giving someone a baking dish, fill it with flowers.  Then...after the flowers die you still got something you can still use!

Old T-Shirts:

Jessica over {here} took some old t-shirts and found a new use for them.  check her website out for step-by-step instructions.

frugal thank you!

giving a couple of cookies is a nice way to say thank you....say for babysitting :-) A simple way to "jazz" that up a little bit is use a ziplock baggie and scrapbook paper to make this little gift more special. Its frugal and thoughtful. score!

What you'll need:

ziplock baggie

marker

scrapbook paper

cookies or whatever you want to fill the baggie with
stapler

What do you do for small "thank you" gifts??  I'd love to know!

top 10 garage sale tips!

 Garage Sales

I am a stay at home mom & love to save some $$ whenever I can.  The video below is one mom sharing her top 10 garage selling tips.  I loved it--however, there is no WAY you'd ever get me to do that on the web!

BUT...

if you love garage sales & have a good sense of humor about it, please check this out!

Personalized Guess Who Game

Here is yet another A-M-A-Z-I-N-G idea...personalized Guess who game with pictures of your family & Friends.  This would make such a unique gift! Check out Mad memories for this idea! 

candy love.

Candy love

I can't say this enough.  I am cheesy & I love cheesy  but thoughtful gifts. I am a big believer its "the thought that counts" kinda gal.   I love this latest idea.  I tried this out this morning on my hubby and he loved it. yah!

What you'll need:

Reese's Bar

toothpick

glue gun

How to do it:

1. Buy a package of a treat he likes (Reeses definitely work best...)
2. Open it carefully.
3. With a toothpick, carve your sentiments.
4. Glue the package shut.

When he gets it, I'm sure he'll think, "Oh. Peanut Butter Cups. Nice." But when he decides to eat them, he'll have a surprise waiting for him! 

Got this great idea from love actually, here {you should check her out!} and many more cute ideas! 

Blessings,

Ashley

becoming a mom

when I can't sleep, I blog.  I read blogs or I write on our blog.  The other night I stumbled upon the writings of a first time mom and felt an immediate connection to her.  My heart ached for her. I read her posts and remembered feeling the exact. same. way. I felt like she was writing about me and what I went through --adjusting to motherhood seven months ago. I am SO glad we are passed that now (or..until the next kid!)  I had a hard time adjusting to just about everything. However, God is so good and he was so faithful. We were blessed many times by our church family and by our own families-- without them.we would of been in trouble!   It wasn't until about the 4 month mark I felt a sense of normalcy again.  Now, I can't imagine life without our little guy.  :-)

{below} written by andrea...

There’s lots of things I wasn’t prepared for when becoming a mother. You think you know what it will be like, but you really have no idea. I had NO IDEA how much I would love this little man. Of course I knew I would love him, but the love I feel for him is really indescribable. I wish I could explain the feeling for those of you who don’t have kids, but I really can’t put it into words. I look at him every day and know I am blessed to have such a happy, healthy boy.

I had no idea how hard parenting would be. It’s stressful beyond belief at times. When he cries, there are times when I have no clue what to do to soothe him. I get just as upset as he does when he cries. My beautiful baby is a *tad* high maintenance, and he cries a lot.

I had no idea how tired I would be. When I was pregnant, people said “Get your rest now because you won’t get it once he’s here!” I brushed it off then, but now I wish I had stockpiled sleep like I stockpile toilet paper. Fatigue impacts you in ways you don’t expect. I am not a pleasant person to be around these days. 

I had no idea how out of control my hormones would be. Man! There are times when I feel really sorry for my husband One minute I’m crying and the next I’m angry beyond belief.

I had no idea how my relationship with my husband would change.  I had no idea what an imperfect mother I would be. I was so smug and self-righteous before I had the baby. “I will never do that!” came frequently out of my mouth. Whatever. I do what I have to do to survive these days. That might mean not cleaning the house for weeks or eating takeout more than I care to admit because I don’t have the time to cook. 

I had no idea how much my parents sacrificed & still do to this day.

However...At the end of the day, I had no idea how amazing this journey would be. As hard as it is, it is totally worth every tear, every frustration, and every lost hour of sleep I get. I love this little boy.

just for fun.

Color fascination

I was e-mailed this link by a friend.   click {here} to see what your color says about YOU.  Turns out I'm a RED...and curiosity got the best of me and I e-mailed it to my hubby---he's a red too! 

RED: You boast incredible willpower and are capable of overcoming obstacles that would normally leave others shaking in their boots. You have a penchant for colorful environments and often impress others with your energetic bursts of energy. Your interests in many areas of life often leave you scattered, but when you focus you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.

So now I ask you...WHAT COLOR ARE YOU?! 

Before & After End Table

Two weeks ago I attended my second auction.  I'm hooked, you never know what you'll find! The result of said auction:  this little beauty pictured below.  I got it for a whopping $2.00. I knew with a little TLC this could be an adorable little end table.

BEFORE:

After:

For a little "extra" dough I sell things on craigslist that I buy @ garage sales.  hopefully this little guy will be gone within a week!  :-) 

Blessings,

Ashley

She Saved!

Ever heard of Keri over at She Saved? You should get yourself familiar with her! :-)  She is a great frugal website that alerts you on deals.  I have been following her roughly  a year.  Well, imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and she featured ME in one of her posts here! Holy buckets!  How cool is that?  thanks Keri! 

Blessings,

Ashley

Homemade {Strawberry} Foot Scrub

My sister came over last night and we experimented with a new homemade foot scrub.  We were a little skeptic at first...but quickly became believers! 

Ingredients:
 8 to 10 Strawberries
2 TBS of Olive Oil
1 tsp of Sea Salt or Rock Salt

Preparation
Mix all ingredients.  I used a food processor which worked great.  Otherwise you can just mush 'em up til they get to looking like this... 

 

THEN...massage into feet, rinse and pat dry.

~This foot scrub works great and my feet were so soft afterwords. I massaged it in for about 5 minutes and let it sit for another 5 minutes. I hopped in the shower to rinse it off. ~

My feet and hands {yes we did our hands while we were at it} felt AMAZING after it was done!  AND...the best part...you most likely have all the ingredients in your house!  

Let me know if you try this little recipe out!

Blessings,

Ashley

This inspiring idea came from my frugal lifestyle!

wordle

Have you ever heard of wordle?  that mades two of us! :-)  I found this super cool website (at least I think so!) that can take words, your blog address and just about anything and turn them into words of art!  You can change the color, the size, pretty much anything to personalize it to YOUR taste!  How cool is that!?This would be cool to put in your favorite verse, write happy birthday alot of different ways, or just playing with your last name!  Click here to create your own personal wordle!  Here are a few of the ones i made using my blog address.

{Click on the pictures to see them full size}

 

 

Featured!

Crafting:  Saturday afternoon I was floored to see my cupcake post featured on Tatertots and Jello, here! {mine is roughly the 9th one down }It made my day!  I've had alot of new "faces" come check out our blog.  THANK YOU and what an honor in the crafting blogland! :-) 
I have a couple of projects I finished up as well this weekend!  I will Hopefully be posting them this week.  It is my goal to post at least once a day, although with a little one that isn't always possible! ;-)  If you have some extra "time" on your hands please check out tatertots and jello posts/ideas! { click here.}

Health{ier} Cupcakes

I consider myself to be a beginner in so many areas;
I am.....a first time mom
I am... an infant @  crafting
I am....a plain Jane @ cooking & baking ( I can cook the basics but I'm no Rachel Ray at all!)

(I could really go on here!)

this one is as simple of a  "recipe" that tastes sooooooo good!  All you need it a box of CAKE MIX & a diet soda (I used sprite zero)  ...THAT IS IT.  You do not need vegetable oil or eggs to make them.  You can even go healthier {can you even use that word when referring to cupcakes? :-) } and use lemon cake mix and just sprinkle with powdered sugar. yum!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 (as the box directs)
Stir Cake Mix & Sprite Zero together (it will fizz, ALOT)
Put in cupcake liners using a ice cream scoop..and walaaa!

my aunt Vickie made these last Thanksgiving and i STILL remember how good they were :-)  (Thanks aunt Vickie!)

Frosting them:  a tip for a 'poor mans' way of frosting.  Take a zip lock baggie and cut a small hole in the corner of the bag to have the frosting come out there ...in a nice, clean manner.  then, once your done throw it away. easy peesy.   unfortunately i didn't think of this brilliant idea til my last cupcake.  figures.  :-)  turned out pretty good too.

Got any Easter plans?  I really hope you have a wonderful weekend and will really reflect on the real reason for Easter.

"The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.'"

Matthew 28:5-6a (NIV)

 Our Easter Plans: We are so blessed and get to see BOTH sides of the family this weekend including Ryan's grandparents who have been in Arizona all winter...to say the least I think Grandma Janice is anxiously awaiting to see her little great grandson :-)   Safe travels to you all and happy Easter--HE HAS RISEN.

Want to Buy a Super Saver Card?

My little brother is selling Super Saver Cards to help pay for camp this summer.  If you'd like to purchase one just let me know!  They cost 10.00 but they PAY For themselves 10X over.  my favorite on there is 1.00 off with a purchase of 25.00 at HY-VEE, & since they don't expire til NEXT MARCH you could save money $$ and help a kiddo go to camp!  

Here is the information (thanks to http://amesbargains.blogspot.com/)

For $10 you can buy yourself a Super Savings Card for Ames that will save you much more than $10 over the year. It's good until 3/1/11

Best yet if you buy it from a kid, $8 of every $10 goes strait to help kids go to the national Evangelical Free Church conference.

For more information or to order a card email supersavingscard@gmail.com

Here's the deals on the card (there are LOTS of them):

20th Century Bowling buy one game get one free

Arby's buy a sandwich get one free

B-B0ps buy a sandwich get a Large Fries free

Battles BBQ Free Lemonade w/ sandwich or dinner purchase

Cafe Diem 10% off any coffee or espresso drink

Cookies Etc buy a cookie get a 24 oz drink free

Dairy Queen 1. buy one sundae get one free

2. 50 cents off 16 oz or larger blizzard

3. $3 off DQ cake
Dublin Bay $5 off w/purchase of $30 or more Mon-Fri 11am-2pm

En-Tire $3 off oil, lube, filter

Fazoli's Free drink w/purchase of adult entree

Flame & Skewer Spend $10 get a slice of pie free
Flowerama 10% off your flower order
Great Clips $2 off cut and dry
Hy-Vee $1 off purchase of $25
La Fuente Buy a lunch special or combo dinner get 2nd 1/2 off
Legends buy a lunch or dinner entree get one 1/2 off Mon-Thurs
Mandarin Chinese Restaurant 10% off your total bill

Mayfair Cleaners $1 off any dry cleaning order

Olde Main Brewing Co. $2 off any lunch entree Mon-Fri, $2 off Sunday brunch
Papa Johns buy a large pizza get one free
Perfect Games Free $5 Play Card w/purchase of bowling
Perkins buy two entrees and two drinks and get a free slice of pie
Pretzelmaker buy a combo and get a pretzel free
Reiman Gardens Buy one adult admission get one adult or 2 kids admissions free
TSPA (salon professional academy) free manicure w/a pedicure
Taco Johns buy a soft shell taco get one free
The Spice Thai Cuisine 10% off your total bill
Valentino's Free beverage bar w/purchase of adult buffet
Westcyde Wings buy 20 wings get 10 free