in the craft room working with paper

i took the day off from the day in and outs and played with my little craft girl. look what we made.

note cards for a gift or by mail
cards and gift tagsgift tags

gift tags with some fun layers

place cards for a fancy dinner
sorry some of the pictures have a glare. i am so impressed with that little cricut. hours of fun!

look for a store coming soon. could be etsy or could be site based. not sure yet but all handmade items, vinyl lettering and signs, vintage windows, embroidery, curtains, and staging in home services. should be a fun little adventure.

~type to you soon~

a reminder on the mirror and a thought on the wall

charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. proverbs 30:31somewhere between the loads life happens...doesn't it.

especially if you don't stress about the loads.
i just think whoever designed that font had my cabinets in mind:)
~type to you soon~

today in the craft corner

gift for a friend
card to a friend

this card can be made with a grocery paper bag. i just love plain brown paper to wrap with, write on, and for cards. simply slit a small line on the crease. run a ribbon through the slit. tie a bow around the card and add a tag. super easy and has some cute character.

~type to you soon~

the pleated poppy

go HERE to win these adorable things...
~type to you soon~

hitting the pavement

or the paddles on the elliptical machine for now. i love to run. it really has been a part of my life since i can remember. my dad was a runner and i would go to the small town high school track near our house with him when i was a little girl. he would RUN and i would r...u...n and play and skip, you get the picture. anyway as i got older running because one of the things that i did and i really enjoyed it. not so much the distance part of it, but the experience. as i have gotten older i really enjoy the distance. not too long, but 4 or 5 miles is just perfect, and i am never in better shape than when i am running. something about it make me feel alive. so since the weather is not exactly ideal for hitting the pavement, i am hitting the paddles to prepare myself for the pavement in a few short weeks.

what about you, what exercise do you really like?

photo credit: getty images

time saving tip

not sure why this idea hadn't hit me before, but while i was cooking dinner last nights i had the not so brilliant idea of rinsing all the fruit and veggies for the meal at the same time. i am a genius on a very minuit level. uses less water too!
~type to you soon~

hourly rate $86.40

here is an article from the Wall Street Journal that justifies the argument of clipping coupons. read about it HERE. if anyone is interested in taking a coupon class that is local, comment and let me know. i would be happy to teach another class. if you are not local and want to learn comment and we can connect through email or phone.

personal testimony...i am saving at least $400 per month couponing, sometimes more.

~type to you soon~

free burt's bees toothpaste

first let me say that I LOVE BURTS BEES!!!!! read about my burts bees christmas deal HERE. so i was really excited when i saw this free sample of toothpaste. go HERE to register for it. sometimes these samples are full size.

thanks organic deals and thrifty mama for the tip.

~type to you soon~

the cat's meow

i had the privilege of doing some shopping with some of my dearest friends this weekend. we went to this great store in Ladue, MO called the cats meow. the store is devoted to creating personalized gifts that are just the cutest things that i have ever seen, well that might be a slight exaggeration but the stuff was pretty darn cute!

we got some great ideas while we were in the store and i will definitely be duplicating some of them. after we visited the store we stopped by homegoods and picked up some white plates on the clearance rack for 2.99-7.00(an awesome rectangular platter). later that evening after all the kiddies were in bed we cranked up the cricut and made some really nice pieces that were just like the ones that we had seen earlier for pennies compared to the price the store was asking. i think that is why i really enjoy the cricut and my embroidery machine so much. money saving, yet the quality of the gift is not compromised.

how do you purchase gifts? is quality and uniqueness important for you? do you by something that you like or that the person you are giving the gift to would like? i used to always by what i liked, i am really trying to refocus and choose something that i think they would like.

life is always a growing process isn't it?...even in the gift giving area:) ~type to you soon~

coffee filters

just got this information in an email from a friend. thought that i would pass this information on to you because there are some real money saving tips and great practical suggestions. some of the tips are not necessarily environmentally friendly like using a filter as a spoon rest when a reusable glass or ceramic rest would do...but many of them are great so here is the list.
Coffee filters .... Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing even the large ones.
1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome... Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters..
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. It soaks out all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."
15. As a sewing backing. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
16. Put baking soda into a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
17. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in to put in soups and stews.
18. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
19. Use them as a spoon rest while cooking and clean up small counter spills.
20. Can use to hold dry ingredients when baking or when cutting a piece of fruit or veggies.. Saves on having extra bowls to wash.
21. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
22. Use them to remove fingernail polish when out of cotton balls.
23. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
24. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book.
25. Use as a disposable "snack bowl" for popcorn, chips, etc.
hope you find this information useful. it is always good to think outside the box when it comes to using items in ways other than their intended purpose.
like a door knob for a ironing board holder. you can look HERE and see how we did that in our laundry room. or using a coffee filter as a drip catcher for a popsicle. genius!
~type to you soon~

photo credit: real simple

gift idea

here is a fun gift idea if you know anyone with a cricut. bought the jar at walmart for $9. i will be back in full swing tomorrow. took a couple days to spend with friends in st. louis. nothing like being with good friends. one of life's true gifts!

~type to you soon~

valentine preparations

fresh flowers by the sinkteachers gift before and after
basket ready to go to school

downloaded ziploc topper for our valentines treat bag HERE

we cut the border with pinking shears to create a fun edge

we made some lollipops for treats

have a fun, fun, fun valentine's day!

~type to you soon~

Kreativ Blogger Award

sweet sara at delightful dwelling nominated me for the Kreativ Blogger award. i am so honored that she took the time to share the domestic chick with her readers. part of this award is sharing 5 things about myself that are not necessarily common knowledge items and passing the award onto 5 other bloggers. so thank you sara and here goes...

1. our 3 children are named after a family member.

2. i would love to own a ton of acres one day, raise animals and vegetables, and rock the night away on a huge front porch. my suburban farm will have to do now (we live on 5 acres in a neighborhood).

3. i have one brother who is a missionary, has the sweetest heart of anyone i know, and is living with one of my kidneys. he thinks he owes me, and i think that i owe him!

4. i have 12 friends that are closer than a sister. can't say enough about these precious women.

5. i used to think that i did not want to be like my mom. i now recognize that there are certain inevitable rights that mothers possess, they pass them onto daughters, and it is ok. infact, it is good. i love you mom!

6. my daddy and i used to run alot in when i lived at home. some of the best talks of my life took place on those runs.

7. mr. dc is the best darn earthly thing that ever happened to me. he took an insecure high school girl, gave her confidence, trust in a guy(that i had not experienced before), a family, the warmth of a home that is a comfort, love that is as unconditional as humans can get, spiritual leadership, and laughter all the time.

sorry i know that i shared more than 5. i hope that is ok. have a wonderful snowy day if you are in the snow. if not enjoy your weather too, wherever you are.

i am nominating these lovely people for the Kreativ Award:
Beth at The Stories from A to Z
Kevin and Layla at The Lettered Cottage
Jen at Tatertots and Jello
Melissa at The Inspired Room
Farmhouse Musings

~type to you soon~

taste of home for $3.75

read about this awesome deal HERE. this would be a great birthday gift for a friend and what a deal! or mother's day too!

~type to you soon~

louann's blessing

go HERE to read about our sewing night last week and see pictures of louann's creations.

~type to you soon~

snowy bake day

out the kitchen window
on the kitchen counter

in the kitchen oven

on the cookie sheets

recipe for a snowy bake day

snow.bread.cranberry orange scones.cookies in the oven

~type to you soon~

sewing class inspiration

these are some of the projects that we ended up working on last night in our sewing class. i hope you all can join us next time. this is the version that i made this afternoon. louann made a really cute one last night and she had some fun rhinestone denim bags to work on after she left the class. she gave me this adorable fabric that i used for the liner. this purse is made from a $3 jean skirt from Walmart clearance section. it's a miley cyrus...i feel so stylish:)

i made the beaded handles because our hobby lobby is no longer carrying beaded handles. i just used a heavy gauge wire and strung the beads on it.
got the inspiration for the next project from austin artisan. this is a covered coupon organizer. we used felt, a hairband, and scrap of fabric for the flower and the inside trim. i was really tickled with this little number.

the flower is holding the organizer closed with a black hair rubber band. i sewed the flower to the hair band.
finished off the inside with a scrap of fabric that matches the flower

we used felt for the base of the cover. it is very forgiving and the rough edges do not fray.

~type to you soon~

the majesty of God

i am going to try to start a topical section that covers the many attributes and characteristics of God. the topics will be found at the bottom of the page. the section will simply contain references on where to find scripture that is about the characteristic that is in the title of the post. today i would like to give you a few scriptures on the majesty of God, His greatness. hope you enjoy this. i thought that it would be a great resource for times when you need to share some words of encouragement with a friend, or you need some strength for the day. God is always there and His son Jesus loves us more than we could ever imagine.


the majesty of God

Psalm 8
Hebrews 1:3
Jude 1:25
Micah 5:4
Psalm 104:1
Job 37:22
Deuteronomy 33:26

clutterville

today's real life breakdown...

the laundry room is for laundry. i thought that after the laundry room HERE was redone i would like to do laundry. not so. i like it better now but like is a little too strong of a word for how i feel about it. it is however a necessary task when you are the domestic engineer in a home with 3 children who wear at least 2 outfits a day and a husband that works out, dresses up, gets comfortable, and might work on a project during the course of the day! yes you counted right, 4 outfits for the man. yet i am finding myself re-wearing my clothes at least once. the irony!

so here is my theory. i have this huge infatuation with a laundry room that has no laundry in it, because laundry is clutter. but the thing is that it is a laundry room...for laundry...its intended purpose is laundry. i think that i have been so trained by southern living and country living to desire that clutter free space that when it is not, all is not right. i know that is entirely too anal to be sharing and you all probably think that i am a nut job, but i am just keeping things real. you should know the inner workings of my mind on the topic of laundry.

so i took the thought process a whole step further to our perceptions of not only the perfect laundry room, what about the perfect house, does that make it a home? if the people that abide there are not content, do not care for one another or enjoy each other, does the decor matter?

then take it one step further, the perfect body. if the person that is on the inside of that body is discontent with who they are, they are miserable in their own skin, they are empty inside. does the slender waist, sculpted legs, and perky chest really sum up their parts and happiness in life?

see look what laundry does to me... as my mind drifts off to the idea of an organized, clutterless laundry room. what do you all think? what is your clutterville right now? what are you looking at and relating to a bigger issue?

~type to you soon~

photo credit: country living

it's been a while

sew...i was thinking about doing a little bit of sewing on thursday night. anyone interested? projects of the month are something similar to this adorable felt coupon organizer.

photo credit: austin artisian

or if you missed pillow case dress night we can cover that...

photo credit: laina line

or if you want to learn how to make this...which requires no sewing machine at all, come.

photo credit: where the heart is

let me know if you are coming and what project you are planning on working on. email me if you need me to provide you with a list of items to bring.

~type to you soon~

bucket o' mags

do you think that i needed to weed through the magazines?

from that to this...

and then filed in this...

the important part is the filing and doing so right away. i choose to tear the sheets that i am interested in out of the magazines and file them under specific topics such as recipes, decor, crafting, gifting, etc. the sheets that are torn out can pile up and be very time consuming to file if not kept up with. i try to file them right after i go through each one of my magazines. it makes things easier long term. how do you organize your magazines articles and pictures that you want to keep?

~type to you soon~