Archives for August 2010

Blog Swap With The Dating Divas

August 20, 2010 6 Comments

Happy Friday, my friends! I am thrilled to introduce you to The Dating Divas blog today. Corie is here today sharing some fun ideas about keeping the love alive in your marriage. I am thrilled to host Corie today. She was actually my mentor teacher when I was doing my student teaching!! I carried her inspiration all the way through my teaching career, and I was so excited to discover her in the blogging world also!! She has so many talents to share!! Enjoy her fabulous ideas!

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I am so excited to be guest blogging here at Oopsey-Daisy! I have known Alison for a few years and was not surprised to stumble across her amazing blog! I am so glad that Alison is sharing her talents with the world!

My name is Corie and I am a Dating Diva! I have been married to my man for eight and half years. I know that it is so easy to get lost in the daily shuffle of life and forget to “date your spouse.” Our Dating Diva blog is the perfect solution for any marriage! The Dating Divas is a 12-member blogging team that love to date our husbands and have a lot of fun coming up with original, inexpensive and fun dating ideas to do just that. We love what we do and it shows! We have fun creating new dating ideas, crafts, giving marriage tips, ideas for holidays, and SO MUCH MORE! We enjoy dating our husbands so much that we want to share our ideas with YOU.

A SAMPLE of the The Dating Divas Blog....

One day, I was watching The Sound of Music with my kids and the classic song, "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" was playing. It got me thinking about my favorite things and even better...my husband's favorite things! I quickly jotted down a list of things that I knew my husband loved. I then challenged myself to plan a whole week worth of fun and a date for us, all for under $10. My idea started on a Monday and ended on a Friday.

What You'll Need:

*Five of your man's favorite things.

*Print the book, "You Are One of My Favorite Things" click HERE!

Cut each of the "pages" out & write on them. These will be the notes you give to your spouse each day.

*I saw a similar book on Studio 5 for Father's Day, so I just changed it enough to fit this date.

*A fun poem explaining to your spouse what this week is all about.

Poems for husbands click HERE!

Poems for wives click HERE!

Monday:

I placed the poem in his car before he left for work.

This poem states that this week will be a celebration of his favorite things. (Each day he will be receiving a favorite thing along with a note. He must keep each note because the notes will be payment for the date on Friday.) On his way to work, he called to thank me for the poem and expressed his excitement for the coming week!

Later that night, I placed his first treat by the bathroom sink along with a page from the book.

Tuesday:

I placed his favorite cereal out for breakfast with a new note.

Wednesday:

Inside his lunch I left Hershey bars and you guessed it...another note!

Thursday:

My man loves to read the sports section each morning, so I left a package of heavenly coconut M&M's, along with another note.

Friday:

The last note was left with some of his favorite jerky.

Onto our actual date!!

The first thing we did was head to Wienerschnitzel. Each week in the mail I get awesome coupons, so dinner was less than $5! My husband LOVES the chili cheese dogs and they did not disappoint!

The next thing we did was head to my husband's favorite store...BEST BUY. That's right! We spent over an hour looking at TVs, music, computers...you name it! Best Buy is my man's version of Disneyland!

The last thing we did was head home. Once we were home, we headed for the family room. We then laid down and listened to music. My husband LOVES music and we went through his IPOD. We talked about songs we love and why. We did this for over two hours! Even if you don't have an IPOD, you can use the Internet or CD's.

The best about this date was celebrating my husband's favorite things! I knew it would be a hit because everything we did was centered around things he loves. At the end of our date, my husband informed me that we would be doing my favorite things the next day! Wow, talk about a win-win for both of us!

Once the week was over, I collected the notes back and put them together to make my book. I lined them all up on the right side of a piece of scrapbooking paper & glued the left edge of the pages so they were secure.

Here are some other fun posts that I am sure you would just LOVE!!

Dinner Hot Topics

My Man's Twilight Survival Kit

If You're Wild For Him...Let Him Know

The Five Senses Gift

Thanks for letting me share some highlights from our blog!
Be sure to check out The Dating Divas!

*************See, I told you she was amazing!! Be sure to check out Corie and the other Divas!! Have a great weekend!

Filed Under: swap

Kinley Lane Designs Giveaway!

August 19, 2010 32 Comments

Hello, my friends!

It's giveaway time for all of you Oopsey Daisies!! I am pumped up about this giveaway because I truly believe in Kinley Lane Designs. Tricia's flowers are totally a-MAZ-ing! Any little girl (or BIG girl!) would look lovely wearing her fabulous flower accessories. I couldn't choose my favorite product, so instead, I will just tantalize you with some eye candy of a variety of fabulous items:

Cream and Sugar Bridal Band

Vintage Dots and Lace Headband

Snowy White Ring

Hello--that cream and sugar bridal band is gorgeous!! Kinley Lane Designs is generously giving away a $25 gift certificate to one lucky Oopsey Daisy reader. Entering this giveaway is EASY. Here are the ways you can win:

Mandatory

1. Head on over to Kinley Lane Designs' etsy store and check out her shop! Leave a comment telling us your favorite item.

Extra Ways to Win

2. "Like" Kinley Lane Designs on Facebook.

3. Follow KinleyLane on Twitter.

4. Become a follower of the Kinley Lane Designs blog.

That's it!! This giveaway will close at midnight on Monday, August 23rd. Random.org will select a winner to be announced on Tuesday! Best of luck!

PS I am leaving today for our family reunion! I will still post here and there, but today I am a guest author at The Scrap Shoppe. Come check it out!

Filed Under: giveaway

Car Wash!

August 18, 2010 3 Comments

Nothing says summer fun like hopping into your swim suit on a toasty summer's day and splashing in the soapy bubbles of a car wash!

In our case, we were washing matchbox cars... and we were washing them in Little Man's old baby bath tub! In the beginning, Little Man seemed a little disturbed by the idea of dropping his cars into water, but soon enough he was tossing everything into that tub--just about every toy and ball he could get his hands on!

Every single car deserves some TLC. Right about now I was hating the fact that we were doing this car wash on a cold third floor apartment balcony instead of a sunny, grassy yard! You homeowners don't know how good you have it!

Those rows of warming matchbox cars sure make Mom happy! Just about as soon as we took the cars out to dry, Little Man was tossing them back into the tub. Now, I keep finding matchbox cars in the bath tub. The other day, he tried to dip his car into a cup of milk!! The idea of getting his cars and trucks wet is quickly catching on!

I love this look--Mom, can I get back to washing my cars?! Thanks to my sis for this awesome idea.... I know we'll be doing this again soon!

Enjoy these last few summer days!

Filed Under: kids

Wednesday’s Wowzers: Enjoy Summer While You Can!

August 18, 2010 2 Comments

Whew! What a week!! Mr. Oopsey Daisy has been gone for 7 days straight... not on business this time, but on vacation. Just as soon as he walks in the door later today, I am treating myself to a pedicure. Perhaps a manicure too. We are also gearing up for a fabulous family reunion in the Colorado mountains. My family goes big on just about any kind of special occasion, so packing for this occasion takes a lot of planning. Perhaps I'll do some planning during the pedicure! 🙂

Just take a look at some of the amazing projects floating around the blogosphere this week:

WOW! This window picture project took a lot of love and a ton of creativity... even Shelly's husband got involved! You have GOT to see the entire project at House of Smith's. I think that charming metal "Blessed" sign is my favorite part!

We saw a lot of adorable back-to-school ideas last week. Even though I don't have any kiddos going back to school yet, the teacher in me still feels the excitement in the air! I think these apple candy cupcakes from Cute As a Fox (shared at Someday Crafts) are my favorite back-to-school project. We all love a good cupcake project!

I love a cute learning project, and The 30 Girl amazed me with a variety of do-it-yourself erase boards. I love the idea of kids being able to use a white board (and a cute one, too!) to practice skills. LOVE this farm animal board! I am thinking of making one with family member silhouettes.

I truly couldn't choose my favorite idea--Delia's easy fluffy fringe scarf or her amazing leather flowers! So I wanted to show both! You can find both ideas at a refreshing oasis of inspiration, Delia Creates.

This final idea is a call for all of us to enjoy these last moments of summer! I am putting this DIY slip-and-slide on my to-do list! I found this frugal and fun idea at Frugal Family Fun. Thanks for the reminder to soak in the sun while we still can!

Filed Under: wowzers

FHE Chart {Finally!}

August 16, 2010 50 Comments

Do you have a project that just sits at the back of your mind FOREVER just waiting to take a clear shape? I have way too many to count! Sometimes I have an idea, but I just can't "see" it in my head. I had been dreaming and scheming up a FHE Chart for months. I am proud to say that this Family Home Evening Chart is finally complete. Once I had the vision, it just took a few hours to put together with a bit of help from the hubby.

It all started with this innocent piece of bare wood that I bought at The Wood Connection. (You will be hearing a lot about The Wood Connection considering I came home with more than $100 of wood from The Wood Connection the last time we visited Utah!)

I really wanted a chart with both words and pictures. I wanted Little Man to understand the chart even before he could read! The hardest part of this project was finding the images to design my vinyl. I love how simple the pictures are... perfect for kids to understand!

I adore the metal bracket (Can someone tell me the true name for this.... I don't think it's really a bracket!) It just adds a bit of elegance, don't you think? Mr. Oopsey Daisy got involved with this project, and helped drill in the beautiful bracket. Thanks, babe!

Instead of just swapping little tags with our names, I loved the idea from You Craft Me Up of using our pictures instead! I love the classy black and white pictures. I found blank keychains on sale at JoAnn's, developed some pictures, and cut them down to size. I added a bit of ribbon as a finishing touch!

I love red! It's so bold and beautiful and matches our room perfectly. Isn't it silly that this little chart makes me so much more excited for Family Night?

Have a great week, my friends!

Filed Under: craft, Family Home Evening, vinyl, wood crafts

Blog Swap With Making the World Cuter

August 13, 2010 4 Comments

Each Friday, I am having a blast sharing some of my favorite bloggers with you!! Tiffany is here today from Making the World Cuter. I know she adds a lot of cuteness to MY Oopsey Daisy world!!

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Alison is so dang cute! I am really excited to be here introducing myself to you all today!
My name is Tiffany, since we are now friends, you can call me Tiff...I have 3 insanely cute kids that make my world cuter, and me and my adorable husband are expecting another little boy next month. This picture, (taken about a year ago) cracks me up with my two silly boys being so uncharacteristically darn serious! 🙂

I blog over here at Making the World Cuter. I am on a mission to make the world cuter, one kid, cupcake or crafty thing at a time! I hope you come over and say hi!

I also love photography and have a little photography blog called Pumpernickel Buttons.
Here are a few random things about me...

My favorite food is the sandwich-yummy deli style sandwiches are the best, but I love just about anything between two pieces of bread!
I'm a student right now, studying web design-but my true passion is photography and Photo Shop so I will probably get my bachelors in Photography when I'm done with this degree.
If I wasn't pregnant I would be eating a spoonful of cookie dough while typing this, it really is a wonder that I don't weigh 1000 pounds.
I LOVE to organize things...like closets, and offices, and craft supplies and rearranging rooms and...the nesting instinct has kicked in-this intensifies this insane sickness 200%, so if you don't see a post for a couple of days, it's because I buried myself in a closet somewhere, and haven't found my way out yet...

I love to do anything and everything creative, especially if I can do it with things I already have on hand. Here are a few of my favorite projects I have put together...

This wooden tiled mirror...

I like to do furniture makeovers, this glider is my favorite-it was so hideous before!

I generally do easy and cheap projects (and no I am not either of those things-just ask my hubby), like this burlap wreath with fabric scraps and salt dough buttons.

One of my favorite things to make are napkin rings, just because they are easy, and fast to put together and are so dang cute! These ones are made out of a tinfoil tube and burlap.
Here is one of my absolute favorites! Hooded towel ponchos! My kids have been living in these this summer at the beach, at the lake, at the pool, after a jaunt through the sprinkler...and I get compliments on them everywhere they take them. Plus the kids are all super cozy and warm in them. The pockets hold goggles, extra sunscreen, snacks, beach treasures...you name it, it's probably been in there! 🙂

I love meeting new blog friends and I have a big old linky party on Mondays as well Making the World Cuter Mondays, I really hope you come by for a visit!

Thanks for having me Alison, and thanks for making my world cuter! 🙂

-Tiff

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O man, I have been wanting to make that burlap & button wreath forever! Holy cuteness! Thanks SO much, Tiff!

PS I don't have a fresh freebie to share today, but be sure to check out all of my past freebies here.

Filed Under: swap

Bath Toy Bag

August 12, 2010 10 Comments

Sometimes I find that I am most satisfied with crafts that truly fill a purpose... with a little cuteness on the side, of course! This bath toy bag was such a project--desperately needed and thankfully cute! We had a real problem when it came to bath time. Little Man adores taking a bubble bath almost every night. However, the old ice cream bucket that we were using to store our bath toys finally bit the dust.

These soggy bath toys, just living in the tub, were driving me crazy!! They definitely needed a home. I remembered seeing Ashley's adorable mesh bath toy bag, and decided to set out to make my own! No more bath toys abandoned in the tub!

I made my bag extra large so we could add to our bath toy collection. I used fabric to embellish the bag, and it even matches my bathroom! I lined the top with brown ribbon, and burned the edges so they wouldn't fray. I sewed ribbon loops into the lining in order to hang it neatly on my bathroom wall.

Wal-Mart actually failed me when I was searching for the suction hooks. I found my hooks at Ace Hardware. So easy!!

I think my favorite feature is that the toys drip dry all by themselves. PLUS Little Man really enjoys putting his toys away. He loves putting things inside a bag. Added bonus! I think I can help encourage his love of cleaning up...

Enjoy your day!

Filed Under: sewing

Wednesday’s Wowzers

August 11, 2010 7 Comments

Welcome to another addition of Wednesday's Wowzers, my opportunity to highlight a snippet of the ideas that motivate me! It is difficult for me to only feature a few ideas each week. You guys are truly amazing!!! I relish the opportunity to sit back, take a break, and talk about others' ideas!

What a clever idea!! Giver's Log shared a tutorial on making personalized game pieces. No more fighting over game pieces. What a novel idea!

I have loved seeing all of the adorable beach towel makeovers this summer, but this is, by far, my favorite!! I found this kimono towel cover up at The Project Corner.

I know you must have seen this adorable yellow car game!! If not, head on over to She Wears Flowers. I am just dying to make my "bus" version for Little Man.

I have seen so many cute ideas for enhancing family dinner conversations, but I think this idea is my favorite. My Computer Is My Canvas created conversation coasters! Love it!

Every week, I find myself coveting Brown Paper Packages' projects! I love these monogrammed vinyl placemats! I love that you can personalize your kids' placemats. I am getting all kinds of fun ideas for personalizing placemats for holidays and special occasions, too!

I love myself a good wreath and am always looking for new ideas! This lovely wreath could be used all year long. I love the flowers almost as much as the entire wreath. I found this inspiration at Diary of Daves Wife.

What has inspired YOU this week? Thanks for making Oopsey Daisy part of your day!

Filed Under: wowzers

Shrimp & Broccoli Stir Fry {Sure-to-Please!}

August 10, 2010 4 Comments

This dish is definitely one of the most requested meals in our house. We adore shrimp, and this stir fry is absolutely scrumptious! It tastes authentically Asian, and every time I have made this dish, I am amazed at how the flavors come together in such a naturally yummy way! I

Although the recipe originally only called for broccoli and onions, I have thrown in sliced carrots and peas, too. It's a fabulous way to use up those leftover veggies hanging out in your crisper drawer!

No need to copy down the recipe... you can download and print your own copy at the end of this post!

Shrimp & Broccoli Stir Fry

¼ c. chicken broth

2 T. rice vinegar

2 T. soy sauce

2 tsp. cornstarch

½ tsp. dark sesame oil

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper (or ½-1 tsp. cayenne pepper)

1 T. Canola oil, divided

1 T. minced, peeled fresh ginger (or 1/8 tsp. ginger powder)

1 T. minced garlic

1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp

¼ tsp. salt

4 c. small broccoli florets

1 c. vertically sliced onion

**I have also added carrot slices and snap peas**

Combine chicken broth, rice vinegar, soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, and red pepper in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk and set aside.

Heat 2 tsp. Canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry 30 seconds. Sprinkle shrimp with salt. Add shrimp to pan and stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove shrimp mixture from the pan.

Add remaining 1 tsp. Canola oil to pan. Add broccoli and onion (and any other veggies!) to pan. Stir-fry 4 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Add shrimp mixture and broth mixture to pan. Cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Serve with rice.

Have a Tasty Tuesday, my friends!!

Filed Under: recipes

Crepe Paper Rose Wreath

August 9, 2010 38 Comments

Alright Oopsey Daisies, I am BEYOND excited to share this project with you! This project started out as a quest for a simple wreath for my front door. Not many things look good on an orange door... but I thought that I couldn't go wrong with white roses! However, I had no idea how long this wreath would take to make! I spent an entire week rolling crepe paper roses! I love how it turned out and it was worth every minute! But in the end, I decided that this wreath would become a part of our decor.

I used 2 1/2 rolls of white crepe paper. I got to know the crepe paper quite well....

I used the amazing tutorial by House of Smith's to create HUNDREDS of crepe paper roses. There were times I wanted to pull my hair out, but it was definitely worth it!

I used my glue gun to secure the roses as I went and then filled in my styrofoam wreath! Slow and steady wins the race....

I really like a nice, full wreath so I glued in as many roses as possible!

I seriously threw a party when I had finished that last rose! However, it took me a couple of weeks to decide how I would display this in my home. I battled a couple of options. I definitely have crafting ADD at times... I went back and forth and back and forth again.

Ta-dah! I bought this bare wood frame from the Wood Connection. About 4 coats of paint later (a little red, a little white, a little brown, and then a deeper red!) and with plenty of sanding, I created this pretty little rustic frame! I adore the red against the white roses!

I did a craft swap with a friend about 6 months ago, and I scored this cute little shelf! The wreath hangs perfectly above it. (This week, I plan on painting my shelf a bit, so it will no more be a white shelf on white wall!) It is a stunning center piece. Eye candy for me!