Snowman Invites

Last year my son was born 9 days before Christmas. I decided way back then that for his first birthday I would theme his party "Winter ONE-derland". Yes, not very original, I know. And, yes I have been planning it for the entire year. The best part about it is that I was able to buy snowman/snowflake items after Christmas for at least 50% off! I have my napkins, cups, treat bags, plates-most of the important players for a rockin' party. I just have a few decorations I plan to make and I will fill the rest in with color coordinated pieces and we are all set.

 

I always like to make my invitations. If not I at least like to design them and then upload them as a picture. I came up with this idea after much thoughtful consideration. That, and I had designed so many invites that just weren't what I had envisioned. It wasn't coming together. So, I decided to build my own snoman. Out of white cardstock. And connected with tiny pieces of ribbon. Then I drew the faces on myself. And, added a cute paper scarf for something extra :)

 
They fold up neat and cute to fit in the envelopes too!

 

I'd love for you to come back and see what other projects I have in the works for this big event! I wouldn't even mind if you started following me-just to make sure you don't miss anything :)

I spy Christmas ornaments

I may or may not have made these for all three of my little nieces and my children for Christmas this year. I'm also thinking about going out and getting more to make them for my older niece and nephew. :)

I started with large clear ornaments. Yes, they are plastic. When I showed my husband these after I was done the first thing he asked me was "those aren't glass are they?' Yes dear, I am planning on giving five children under the age of 6 a glass ball to play with. I'm that smart :)I found my ornaments at Michael's. Theirs are cheaper than Jo-ann's. The big ones I bought at Michaels are $1.99-a whole dollar cheaper than Jo-Ann's! And, if you use a coupon it's even cheaper!

Michaels is where I also bought all of the little trinkets to go inside of them. Some of my items are foam stickers (don't remove the backing), others are meant to go on tiny Christmas trees, some are charms I found near the christmas crafts and ribbon, the rest are actually buttons. Like sew on your shirt buttons! So incredibly cute! And, they all fit perfectly in the opening of the ornament. I  bought my epsom salts at the drug store. A hug milk carton of them on sale for $4. Anyone have any other recommendations for the rest of them??? I printed off a specific list of what to look for in each one and attached it like a gift tag. Add a pretty Christmas bow (not on my son's though!) and you have the cutest little gifts that are alos bunches of fun

I used my Cricut to add the names with cheap-o contact paper. I've never bought the real vinyl you're supposed to use for crafts. You know, the $9.99 stuff? I'd be afraid to make a mistake of it. I have 30 feet of contact paper in green and red for $2.99 each. Works for me! There's my free tip for the day :)

Well, I lied. I have some more free tips for this project:
Hot glue the tops onto the ornaments. They were kind of loose once I took them off and then put them back on. I didn't want to risk these spilling at someone else's house once I gifted them. Or spilling at my house knowing my children :)
Also, dab the tiniest bit of glue in the  holes in the top of the ornament topper. The holes where the hanger goes into the metal cap. Those two teeny, tiny holes CAN let some of the salts escape if shaken. I'm so glad I played with these for a while when I took my pictures!

 

What can you spy??

 

 

Now for your opinion: would you give these to a 13 year old and 10 year old? I have heard talk of how they used to love the "I spy" type books. Maybe? Maybe not?

 

 

 

The Good Wife

***Ok, that's it!!! Before I start the real content of this post I am asking for HELP! I consider myself a very basic blogger-if you hadn't noticed by my simple and boring blog setup :) But, I can't for the life of me figure this out. I want to reply to comments!!! How do I do this?? Anyone? I have tried figuring it out on my own and have done everything I've read online regarding this topic. Still, nothing works. What am I doing wrong? How can I fix this??? Leave me a comment and maybe I can get back to you :/ Thanks to anyone who can help!****

A few weeks ago my husband confessed he was tired of taking sandwiches all the time in his lunch everyday. I was frankly in the same type of mood. Sometimes we buy him some frozen meals he can microwave but we hadn't in forever. Other times he takes leftovers from dinner the night before but even that wasn't happening that often anymore-if someone wouldn't eat so much at dinner maybe we would have more leftovers!!! So, I did a bunch of research and found some ideas for 'muffin tin meals' (that's the search I used) over on the Pillsbury website. They used a can of their refrigerated biscuits and different fillings. I didn't care for their fillings either because I didn't have the right ingredients or I knew they weren't my husband's taste. So, I made my own using their biscuit idea. I had a bag of chicken tenderloin pieces defrosted that I hadn't used yet so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try some ideas of my own out. I buy big pack of chicken and then divide it myself and freeze them in 8's. I only used 7 for these because I put one aside for my son's dinner :) If you do this, you may get more than the 15 I did if you use all 8.


I started with 2 cans of biscuits and I sprayed my muffin pan with a boat load of non-stick spray. I didn't want these beauties to stick after all the work I would be doing:

 I flattened each biscuit in my hand first. Then I simply pressed it in to the muffin tin like a bowl, just waiting for my delicious filling!

 I came up with three different varieties and collected the supplies I would need for each.

 I diced my chicken up and mixed it with my above ingredients. I used one of my normal kitchen spoons and dropped a spoonful into each biscuit cup.

 After topping them with a bunch of cheese they went into the oven for about 15 minutes.

 And, they came out perfect! And, they smelled amazing too!! They popped right out of the muffin tin with just a bit of help from a butter knife to lift  an edge for me to grab.

 After cooling on a wire rack I wrapped them each individually and labeled them. Now, my husband just has to open the freezer, pick his taste for the day and walk out the door for work. I can't wait to hear how he likes them.

 Do you have any other ideas for fillings?? We are trying to come up with some I could make with ground meat as well as more chicken ideas. What kind would you make?