Wizard of Oz...

Okay I have been whipping up a handful for prototype invites. I would love if you'd leave me a comment on which you like the most and if you have any ideas for a different version or something to make these versions better!

There are 3 pics of the first. First I will say that I stole the general idea from a good friend who made an adorable Pirate invite for her little boy using SU stamps. I of course whipped out my cricut. After many looks through the Paper Doll Dress Up book I came up with this. The little charm is a shrinky dink with a green witch that I made.

I also used Animal Kingdom for the little Toto. I also realize that she needs some socks, I forgot those.

This is how the card opens, I cut the card out with my Wild Card Cricut Cart. If you dont quite get how it works from the pic picture how you close a box by folding in opposite flaps. The card works the same way.

Number 2 is the whole gang made with PDDU cart. That took some time and needs some fine tuning, but you get the idea. If I go with this design I need to find a brick pattern embossing plate, I dont feel like drawing in all those bricks 20 times.

Card three was my original idea, mainly because I am in love with my SU scallop punch. the shoes are from Cricut too.

I found this paper at a scrapbook store and bought like 8 sheets of it, thinking I might do something with it for the party, not really sure about that now?? Again I used my SU scallop circle and a Lots of thoughts stamps.

This one needs something, i am thinking orange poppies or something. The yellow sleeve slips off and the card opens like a gate. I cut teh shoe out of the paper I used above.

Thanks for any input, I did buy like 6 sheets of Wizard of Oz stickers at Hobby Lobby for 1/2 off, so I have to figure out how to use them in the Thank you cards!

Sprinkles...

Alright, I have way too many sprinkles. I love to whip up a batch of sugar cookies or cupcakes and let my kids go to town sprinkling everything up!

They love it and I love to watch them, plus eating the creations is a bonus (unless my butt starts to grow).

I had so many containers that my spice cabinet was hazardous to open, you never knew if sanding sugar or non-pairels were going to knock you on the head. I had to come up with a solution. And free is always preferrable!

We got a spice rack for our wedding (8 years ago) and more than half the spices were unopened and clearly expired. I had no use for dill weed, mustard seed and other unknown spices. I used garlic, parsley and pizza seasoning, the other 13 were brand new. I trashed all the contents and washed up the rack and bottles and filled them with every color of the rainbow in sugar!

I still need to make little circle labels for the tops, but for now I am thrilled with how pretty the bottles look on my counter and bonus when it is time to decorate a treat I just have grap the whole rack and the girls can spin til they see what floats their boats!

I have 3 empty bottles (well 2 now, I filled up one after I took the pic) and I have my eye on a few sprinkles at Hobby Lobby!

And because she's adorable here is my little sous pastry chef!

Amazing Chocolate free ice cream

So Eric and I gave up chocolate for Lent, it has been difficult. I dont think I eat tons of plain chocolate but there is chocolate in so many things, cookies, brownies, cakes, ice cream, tons of candy etc. So it has been hard to find snacks or things to calm the sweet tooth!

Today at the store Eric was searching and searching for something to curb those cravings.

He came across this, Light Turkey Hill Peanut Butter Mania ice cream. YUM. It has chunks of peanut butter cookie dough, peanut butter swirls and peanut brittle all in vanilla ice cream.

So the girls and I cracked it open for a little after lunch treat and it is awesome!!

I even melted a bit of peanut butter and drizzled it over the top. next to chocolate I think Peanut butter is my next favorite dessert flavor.

So if you are wanting to try something new, knock yourself out with this, plus it is on sale for $2.50 this week at Kroger.

Props to my friends blog

My friend Lorie has a really great blog. She always finds and links all sorts of fun things that she discovers on the internet. And she does it all while she takes care of 3 kids, me I struggle to update with just the 2 girls :D I am doing better though, dont you think.

Anyway, I can always find inspiration from her blog, Be Different Act Normal, and maybe you can too.

I need to make some sidewalk chalk, lots of it in yellow... wonder how that will go!

http://www.bedifferentactnormal.blogspot.com/

Soccer Forfeit

The weather, in true Midwest fashion sucks today! It is rainy and cold and just plain old yucky. We are even supposed to get snow today, 2-5 inches for our tv viewing area, we are probably closer to 2.

So hopefully next weekend we will get to play a game. I wish the Y would have cancelled it, but the guy that runs wouldnt make that decision. So our coach cancelled our game, after half our team was going to attend. Not sure how good we would have done if Linds and 3 other kids were our only team!!

So sooner or later I will have soccer pics!

Old Parties (lydia)

Lydia has only had 2 birthdays but she has had 6 b-day parties. Her b-day is so close to Christmas that we celebrate in Nebraska with Eric's family while visiting for Thanksgiving, then we celebrate at home without friends and lastly we celebrate in Terre Haute with my family when we are there for an early Christmas.

Her first b-day was ladybug themed, for her Neb party we ordered a cake from the grocery store and she opened a few presents.

For her home party, I made little mini ladybugs cupcakes. They were Dark chocolate cake with cherry filling and creme cheese icing. they were amazing!! I also made a bunch of homemade candy, including peanut butter balls and white chocolate bark! We had chocolate chip cookies with red and black M&Ms.

I was lucky to find little ladybug cellophane bags and I spent a ton of time seperating black M&Ms from Halloween and red ones from Christmas M&Ms, each kid went home with stickers, a lady bug picture frame craft, the M&Ms, and other candy and treats and the girls went home with cute lady bug hairclips.

I had a lot of fun with the Cricut for this party too, there were ladybug everywhere!!

(Lindsay really enjoyed her red iced cupcake)

Terre Haute party, Gradma made the adorable lady bug cake and we had some more lady bug cupcakes and different candies from her Decatur party. Grandma made her her own little mini lady bug complete with antennae!

Here 2nd set of 3 parties have already been posted, here are the 3 links to her sock hop party.

I will say that to date the Sock Hop was my favorite party, but maybe Wizard of Oz will dethrone the 50's!!

http://adventuresoflindsandlyds.blogspot.com/2008/12/final-2nd-birthday-party.html

http://adventuresoflindsandlyds.blogspot.com/2008/12/birthday-party-take-2-aka-my-party.html

http://adventuresoflindsandlyds.blogspot.com/2008/12/birthday-party-take-1.html

Old Parties... (Lindsay)

I have planned a whopping 6 b-day parties for my kids. I am sure that at some point I will just decide to throw a wal-mart cake at them and call it good, but hopefully they are over friends parties before that happens!!

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Sesame Street....(their nursery was SS also, I love me some Sesame St. gang) This party has the least themed stuff, my MIL made the goody bags on her embrodier and my mom did the cake, I made the cute cupcakes!

Here's our mom's group in attendance at Lindsay's first b-day, Brooke the really tall one has a job at the hospital so we dont see her anymore and the other four of us, along with others still hang out 4 years later :D

Miss Linds eating her cake, sorry it's sideways.

the AWESOME Bert and Ernie cake!

My cupcakes! We had some really blue tounges after eating Cookie Monster.

Cute goody bags!


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Lindsay's 2nd b-day was a zoo theme, and I realized when pulling up these pics that I didnt get very good ones. I do have better ones of her eating cake, but the aren't the correct way. I had really cute reuseable zoo bags and zoo sippers, hats, stickers and tons of other stuff. I am sad I dont have a pic!

Here is her giraffe cake, with Tootsie Rolls antlers (or whatever a Giraffe has)

Here is the b-day girl with her presents!


Zoo animal cupcakes!

Not wanting her pic taken eating her cake!

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Third B-day is the first time Lindsay picked a theme. This year it was Curious George, and honestly I was thrilled with that because I actually like George, I can sit and watch his show, he is much better than some other shows kids like.

We had cute Monkey Brownie Cupcakes with Nutter Butter ears and vanilla wafer noses.

Georgie cake, it is the same pan that made last years Giraffe.

We borrowed my brothers small bounce house, the kids loved it.

Lindsay eating her cake and smiling for her 3rd b-day pic!

Some snacks. We had Georgie's all over but I dont have pics of them.

Pinata hanging from the tree!


Pinata loot!!



Cute little 7 month old Lydia!! I miss those chubby thighs!


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4th b-day was Care Bears which you have seen, but I will link :D

http://adventuresoflindsandlyds.blogspot.com/2008/07/well-linds-turned-4-on-sunday-and-i.html