Our Little Life...

Couponing trips for 2 weeks

2011-10-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

Yikes, it's been crazy around here! I've been out of town for the past two weekends and am swamped with my churches Super Saturday. (In a good way though)

I haven't shared any new coupon trips lately so I thought I'd share the ones I did these past couple of weeks!

Albertsons-
5 boxes of Pasta
Retail- $5 I paid- FREE

Rite Aid-
2 Soft Soap body wash
Similasan Eye Drops
2 3D white tooth brushes
Retail: $18 I paid: Out of pocket $9 and I earned $25 back. So I made money off of this transaction.

Rite Aid-
6 Dove Shampoo and Conditioners
2 baby Aveeno lotions, Aveeno Moisturizer, and a large bottle of the regular Aveeno lotion.
8 Cover Girl make-ups
Retail: $95 I paid: Out of pocket (w/tax) $8.15 and earned back $35. So, I made $26.85

Albertsons-
4 bags of Tostitos Scoops and Crispy rounds
5 Propel waters
10 Yoplait yogurts
1 Yoplait granola
2 bags of Halloween candy
Retail: $30 I paid: $12.22

Yes, couponing is addicting!
Once you get started...
You'll never be able to pay full price for anything again! LOL

Courtney

Couponing Week Three

2011-09-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

I didn't do very many transactions this past week...had to much other stuff going on...
BUT, I did find some awesomeness! ;-)
Excuse my messy counters...it was one of those days! ;-)

Albertsons trip-
16 boxes of Totino's Party Pizza's
2 boxes of Totino's Pizza Roll's
1 Yoplait Smoothie
2 Pillsbury Cookie Dough's
2 Supreme Bars
3 boxes of Potatoes
4 Progresso Soup's
Retail: $50 I paid: $17.71
AND I seriously, no joke. Earned 100 box tops! haha
I couldn't believe it when I counted them all! ;-)

Wal-Mart Trip:
5 boxes of Crest Toothpaste
(not the best deal but I had to use my coupons before they expired...had my first experience where I couldn't let a coupon expire! YIKES! lol )
Retail: $10.32 I paid: $4.32

Rite Aid Trip:
(This was my best trip for sure all week!)
2 Bayer Advanced
1 Tylenol Precise Heat Patch
Triaminic Multi-Symoptom
Retail: $22.00 I Paid: $3.22
and earned $3 in up rewards to use on anything on my next trip!

Having troubles finding good coupon trips for this week!
Anyone getting anything good?
If so let me know! ;-)

Courtney

September Birchbox

2011-09-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

So I haven't even finished my other reviews on the August Birchbox before I got my other one!

I wasn't even expecting it to come already! haha
So it brightened my day when i saw it in the mail yesterday! ;-)
Here's what I saw when I opened it!
Birchbox

And once everything was unwrapped from it's pretty packaging

Here are the products!

Pangea Organics Facial Cream

This little bottle literally smells like a spa in a jar.
It feels so soft and fresh.
On a stressful day this would be a great way to end it!

LIV GRN Parfum

Unfortunetly I do not like this perfume. :-(
Smells like cucumbers at first, then a little like old lady after it's been on for awhile...
nothing wrong with old ladies though! ;-)
It's just not me.
Twirl last month was way better! :-/

Jouer Lip Enhancer

I already have this in my inbox to buy!
It's that amazing!
See pics below for proof! ;-)

Incoco Nail Polish Applique

How fun!
These are usually right around $6-8 dollars alone at departments stores.
And my Birchbox was $10. Well, worth it! :-)
I can't wait to try them!

But, okay onto some fun with the lip enhancer.
I put this on after a long morning...of couponing. haha
And was so happy with the results!
It made my lips so cute and shiny and pink but without feeling like I had a ton of lip gloss on!
Here's some quick pics I took.
Love how it makes it look like i have a little bit of lip liner on...but it's just the gloss!

I can't wait to get it in the mail!
But, for now the little mini will have to get used to me carrying it around with me wherever I go! ;-)

We also recieved this cute little friendship bracelet from Birchbox celebrating a year!

Thanks for reading!
Have a fabulous Tuesday!
Courtney

2011-09-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

Member these super cute Harvest blocks from last year?
Oh, my heart is so excited for Fall.
It's my favorite time of the year!
How I love to dress.
The weather.
Decorating! Eek!
Now if only it still wasn't 95 degree's here I'd probly have way more done this year by now...hmm?

what to do this year?

Any ideas?

Some really awesome Burlap has been in a drawer for quite some time...okay.
I'll go get it out now! hehe :-)

I've been getting some serious ideas from this awesome linky party!
Come join us over at

Craftaholics Anonymous!

Courtney

Yup, she's got Independence!

2011-09-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Allie is full speed ahead on finding her Independence!

More like already found it.*tear

So I can no longer help her into the car.
Buckle her car seat for her.
Help take her potty. (unless, she's in a "mood")
Rarely can I help pick out her snacks.
I can't hold the book and bed time.
Getting dressed is like impossible.
I mean the list can just keep going with what I can and can't help her with now.

And it's been a hard adjustment.

For ME! :-( lol

One day I'm the one in "control". And then next it's out the window. And we're on a totally different schedule.
Well, anyways. I came across this very awesome idea on Pinterest a couple weeks ago. And I thought we'd give it a try and that it could help ease the stress a little.

I'm always feeling like I don't give Allie enough healthy snacks. Mainly laziness on my part. Getting the fruit or veggie out. Washing it. Finding something for it to go in. Cleaning up after the snack.
I know I sound lazy right now.
But, extra energy just doesn't exist right now.
So anyways. When I saw what another mom did. I couldn't help but try the last time I picked up some fresh foods.

It took me about 10 minutes to get it all cleaned. Cut. And packaged into baggies (Allie LOVES baggies) and wrote her name on the front. I made some different than others. So that they didn't look all the same and that she had even more of a variety.

In the first bags I put together I added Celery, baby carrots and tomatoes.
Then put together some grapes in others.

I L.O.V.E how organized it is! :-)

And how easy it is for Allie to see her name on a baggie with a nice fresh and healthy snack inside!
Love it!

And I have to say.
It's been a huge hit!
Allie is in heaven with it.

Of course she can open the fridge now. :-/
So she can get them all on her own.
And put them back once she's done!

This trial period has also made me realize I might have an OCD problem? lol
I can't stand our fridge with all of the labels not showing to the front and the same with our pantry...oh I'm even crazier in the pantry! :-/
It drives me bonkers! I can't see what's all in there! And then I tend to re-buy something we've already got!
Stresses me out! haha (mostly kidding...)

Hopefully I'm not the only one? haha
If you're like me.
Let's get together!
I think I might need a sponsor or something so I'm not so insanely obsessive with our food! ;-)
hehe

Anyways, thanks for reading!
Happy Monday!
Courtney

Couponing Week Two

2011-09-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

This week was really slow with coupons due to the Holiday...but, here's what I got!

2 bags of M&M's from Rite Aid
Retail- $7 I paid- $2 and earned a $1 towards any item on my next purchase

Vicks from Wal-Mart
Retail- $14 I paid- $3

12 boxes of Vicks Cough Drops from Wal-greens
Retail- $11.00 I paid- .73cents
(I paid .93cents in tax for these. Thought that was kinda funny that I paid more for these items in taxes than what they're worth!)
Oh, and I think we're officially stocked for cold season! ;-)

And of course the rest of my juices from Wal-Mart which were all free!
Retail- Around $7

Happy Couponing!
Courtney

Some Serious Cuteness

2011-09-09T10:28:00.000-07:00

So I have about a whole drawer full of scraps.
This is just a small portion...:-/

It's a horrible addiction when you sew.
You think. Oh, I'm sure I'll use this again...one day. lol
And before you know it. You're full to the brim with scraps. ha

Well, the other day I finally found out how I can use all these scraps.
Member how I did that Fabric Tutorial here?

Well, I finally got around to another one called the Rosette Flower...SUPER easy.
And way cute!

K, here's what ya need...

*Glue Gun
*Scissors
*Scraps of fabric

1st:
You're going to get your strip ready.
Doesn't have to be a perfect one.

2nd:
You're going to fold your strip in half.
I just use my finger nail to run it down edge so it stays a little bit better...

3rd:
At one end of your strip you'll make a knot...

4th:
Take the extra fabric from your knot and fold it behind the knot so that the center of the knot is facing up.

5th:
This is where it can get tricky. But, it's still easy. :-)
See my pinky finger?
The edge of the fabric that's right next it to you're going to grab and twist around and up next to the flower...

6th:
Just keep tightly twisting the same way over and over again until you get the size of the flower you'd like.
I found it helpful with larger flowers to add a dot of hot glue every once-n-awhile to secure it better.

7th:
Once you've gotten the size of the flower you want, you'll snip off the remaining fabric and cut a circle from that fabric and glue it to the back of your Rosette so it helps hold it in place.

I decided to make headbands with the flowers I made.
I also used some Yo-Yo flowers and grabbed some cute embellishments.

And this is what I ended up with...

Adorable huh?
I even like wearing them! haha
And anyone can do this!!!
Took me like an hour to do all 3 of the headbands.
The first one is my favorite. :-)

Happy Friday!
Courtney

Blinc Mascara Review

2011-09-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Let's just say I'm not as thrilled with this product review like I was with the last one.
Even though this mascara is kinda neat.
Would I pay $24 for it?
Eh, no.

Blinc Mascara

The dark purple bottle is what it came packaged in...
And the second pic is what the mascara bottle looks like.

I did give it a try a couple of times just to be sure...
Here's me before with no mascara on.
(I was still not completely ready. Due to the wet hair. So excuse that hot mess...lol)

And here's me (with dry hair ;-) right before I put the mascara on.

Here's what the wand looks like...
It was really hard to put on with this little guy here.
After a couple of times playing around with it I finally got it down but still wasn't my favorite

And here's it right after I put it on.
I didn't like that after I put it on while it was still drying my lashes kept sticking together...
that was more annoying than anything...

BUT, once it dries it's like it doesn't move.
BUT, without feeling really heavy or flaky.
Which is always nice!

Now here's where the neat part comes in!
If you have problems with really bad flakiness, or smudges, you're a "crier" or don't like to feel like you're wearing a lot of make-up. This mascara could be for you! Like I said earlier, once it does dry...it is okay. Just not really that great going on and you really have to work with it.
Me on the other hand likes to have it go on fast (mom here, don't have time to sit for even 5 minutes playing with mascara every day! lol) , and I like my lashes to show off. So maybe that's why I'm not really feelin' it?

Okay, back to the neat part! ;-)
Taking off the mascara!
I know right? I'd figure putting it on would have been more exciting! :-/

So okay, this mascara is made from a co-polymer based formula to create little "tubes" around each one of your lashes. Had to look up what co-polymer was! haha And from what I got from it is that it's basically a water proof silly putty. Or you can think of it as a sealant of some kind. Basically it's water proof and yet, it's flexible.

So to take off the mascara you don't even need an oil based eye make-up remover. All you do is get the lashed wet...

And with your fingers gently pull the "tubes" of mascara off your actual lashes.
You kinda have to be careful here because did pull some actual lashes off at one point! lol
The pics below are not my lashes. They're the "tubes" that have slid off of them

Kinda crazy and neat huh?

I think this mascara would be awesome on something like a camping trip/ hike. Where you still have make-up on but it's not to heavy and won't sweat off everywhere...but still $24?

Anyways, that's what I think!
Please remember that these are just my opinions and mine alone...
even though I did have a friend try it as well, and she wasn't' a big fan either...

Hope you're all enjoying the beginnings of Fall! I know I sure am excited!! :-)

Courtney

Brighten her day...

2011-09-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

So we've been totally trapped in the house this holiday weekend with Allie's cold.
Not fun at all.
And the grouchiness level was sometimes way over it's limit.;-)
Thank goodness I think the worst is over! Still not great but, I think we're almost there! haha

I hate seeing my baby sick. :-(

So for dinner one night she was up for making pancakes with me so I threw in a little color to brighten her day!

Allie is in total LOVE with Rainbows right now. So I thought what a great way to bring a smile to her face?

Color the Pancakes! I've seen this done before (mostly with cakes) but never tried it.

It's so fun and cute.

Grabbed my food coloring set that I've had honestly, for like ever now.

I whipped together a batch of just regular pancake mix and divided it into bowls.

Added the food color.

Let Allie mix them up. She l.o.v.e.s to stir when we bake together.

And since her favorite shape is hearts.
I used my pancake heart shape molds I picked up from World Market...
Again, forever ago. lol

Spray them down completely with Pam...

Let the batter sit till you see bubbles...

Lift off slowly...

*Ta-Da*

Almost DONE!

YAY! All done.
We made 4 colors.
Wanted to keep going but, I didn't see the need to have a bunch of different colored pancakes we weren't going to eat...
(Shhhh...we're horrible with left overs!)
(see the sickness dripping from her nose? haha YUCK!)

I let her do (almost) everything.

I think we ended up with some pretty cute pancakes for dinner!

I think she approves! ;-)

Yay, for making toddlers happy!
(which can sometimes be hard. way hard! haha)

Hope you all had a fabulous Labor Day weekend!
Courtney

Couponing Week: One

2011-09-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Okay so not any super fabulous deals for my Official first week of Couponing. I've made it a goal while Tim's gone to spend around $30(ish) a week to go towards our stock pile. So that when he get's home we will be nice and full and won't have to spend as much on groceries. ;-)

I did end up get some great things for my stock pile!

Dawn Pomegranate Hand Renewal
Retail: $5.00 I paid: $2

Old Spice Deoderant and Body Wash
Retail: $36.00 I paid $15.53

Rimmel Glam Eyes
Retail: $2.49 I paid: .49cents

Vicks DayQuil and NyQuil
Retail: $26.00 I paid $4.42

Simply Orange Orange Juice
Retail $2.60 I paid: FREE
(I do have about 6 more of these coupons so I will be getting those this week. They were just out when I was at Wal-Mart. Of course! haha)

Cascade Dishwasher tabs Trial Size (4 tabs)
Retail: $4.00 I paid: FREE

First Couponing week One total: $22.44

There's not to much this week because of the holidays. And the fact that there's no inserts. But, I am on the hunt for a fabulous deal on some pasta and condiments. :-)

Happy Coupons!
Courtney

Lima Bean Wreath

2011-08-31T09:15:00.000-07:00

So...I came across this Lima Bean Tutorial a couple of weeks ago and thought it was super cute! I've been meaning to get a new wreath on our door for the longest time! But I could never find the "right" one.
Best part about having a painted door is it adds SO much to your curb appeal.
Bad part. Trying to add decor around it stinks! :-/

So it's taken me awhile to figure out what to do.

Here's what I came up with!

I grabbed:
A foam wreath- $7 (so wish I had a coupon!)
2 bags of large Lima Beans- $1.25 each
(ended up using 1 1/2 of the bags)
Loads of Hot glue sticks (already had them)
Rustoleum Almond color spray paint- $5
(love this color! I have tons left over still!)
Wooden Letter "A" - $1
Vinyl (already had)
Black felt (already had)
Staple gun (already had)
Ribbon (already had)
And I used my strong adhesive to attached the letter "A" to the beans...

Then I whipped it all together like so...

Adding the beans is the longest part of the process...
so I did it while catching up on America's Got Talent! ;-)
I started on the inside and filled in completely.

Then I did the outer edge...

Then I just started hot gluing them on however they would go.
I stuck with more of a pattern. But, it looks super cute too if you just stick them on however!

Sealed the whole wreath with Rustoleum's Almond color Gloss Protector so the the weather wouldn't hurt it.
And let it dry overnight.

Painted my letter "A" black and added a vinyl scroll on top of it that I cut out with my cricut...

*TA-DA* Love it!!! Way super easy!

Hot glued felt to the back of it so it wouldn't hurt the door

And then used my heavy duty staple gun to attach ribbon to the back
(This is kinda a must! :-/ The first time I just hot glued my ribbon on...from the weight of the beans it wouldn't hold with just glue!)

Here's the final product!
I absolutely love it! :-)

Our front stoop finally looks complete! Yay! ;-) lol

Courtney

No Soliciting Signs Available Now!

2011-08-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

Yup!

They're listed and ready to go!

Enjoy! ;-)

www.CourtneyRoo21.Etsy.com

P.S. If you're Military enter (MILITARY) in the coupon code section for 15% off when you check out!

The Lost Energy Month and Befine Exfoliating Cleanser Review

2011-08-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

Needless to say, my week has been extremely crazy/emotional!

I've been so busy. I've hardly had anytime to sit down and blog! lol

We're in the 3rd month of Tim's deployment.

The month I loathe.

Hate.

Despise.

Wish never came.

Count the days till it's over month.

It's the month when you have no more energy. Everything's bothers you. Your patience has flown out the window 50 miles ago. And nothing makes it better until it's over. I knew this month would come. But, it's hit me like a ton of bricks. It's just something you go through with a deployment. "The Lost Energy Month". No one gets it unless you've gone through it.

Emotion drained.

Physically drained.

Over it drained.

Especially since this deployment is way harder than the last one. The last time Tim was gone for a year, but Allie and I lived with my mom and dad. So someone was always there to help. This time. Not so much. Plus, the guilt of asking someone to help when you're a stay at home mom sucks. So, you just deal till the hubby comes home.

Or you go insane. ;-)

Insane over guilt?

So of course the independent mom in me picks insane. lol

But enough from the Debbie Downer Chronicles!

I want to share about this amazing exfoliating cleanser I got as part of my BirchBox.

(Of course, I should have been getting some much needed rest! But, stayed up to play around!)

Befine Exfoliating Cleanser

So. At first glance I thought YUM! This is going to be yummy!

Brown Sugar, Sweet Almonds and Oats! Oh my! :-)

Then I opened it. And smelt it. Let's say.

It doesn't smell so yummy!

Far from it actually! More like all that combined.

But, in a rotten kinda smell. lol

Good review so far huh? lol

But, I still had to give it a try! I grabbed a wooden stick from my waxing junk...

(*Esthetic Advice- Never put your sweet little fingers inside a container to get some of your product! The moment you stick your hand in it. You've ruined it! Everything you might have on your hands is then left behind in your jar and sealed up nice and tight. And grows and grows until all that's basically going on your face is bacteria and a not so effective product! :-(

...pulled some out of it's package, snapped a quick pic.

Then bravely lathered it on...;-)

And what did I find? Heaven in a little package? From this weird smelly goop? LOL Why yes. Yes I did!

This crazy amazing product not only exfoliates your skin without overdoing it. The sugar beads slowly melt into this creamy milk like cleanser, then when rinsed off sorta foams away.

Leaving the most amazing feeling skin!

Yup. Not a bit of make-up on!

It was a strange experience.

Being so put off, to instantly falling in love.

And you know you're in love with it when you run out after scrapping the inside day after day and is sad to throw the package away.

I've been using it with another sample I got from the same product line. Review on that one later...But, so far I'm pretty impressed!

My pores are already mad at me that I haven't used it in a couple of nights.

I'm pretty picky about what goes on my skin!

And this ones a for sure keeper!

Loves,

Courtney

August BirchBox

2011-08-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have literally been checking the mail everyday for the last week in anticipation over this box.

I was so excited to find it in the mail this afternoon! :-)

As a mom I'm always feeling like I don't "treat" myself enough. If I find something at the store for me and Allie, but I only have a limited amount of money to spend and can't get both. I more than likely put back mine and get what I picked for Allie.

(Plus, she's a lot cuter to dress/accessorize for than me trying to stuff myself into the size I want to be and then just get depressed. haha)

I think it's a good thing. I hope? As a mom, to be always trying to give. But, I'm kinda always feeling like I don't have anything that's nice. And just for me!

Well, I've always had this obsession with make-up, hair products, nail polish...you name it in the cosmetic world. I'd probably love it. ;-) Going to Esthetic school was the best 9 months of my life. I was the most stressed, crazy 18 year old, who cried almost everyday. But I LOVED all the fun I got to have playing around with all the make-up and wax and facial products I could get my hands on. As soon as I walked in and sat down I was in heaven. I knew it was where I belonged. haha (I know, over cosmetics?) It might sound silly to some, but that's just always been me.

Well, last month I came across this company called

Birch Box

that sells Deluxe high end beauty samples.

Wait! Whaaat? Amazing? Yes!

For $10 dollars a month (Free shipping) you get a surprise box in the mail full of samples for you to try. Then not only do you get the samples, you get points for every box you order, every product you right a review on, and if you refer a friend, more points!

The fabulous part about all of the points you earn, are for money to use towards your favorite product! Every 50 point ='s $10

Here's the list of the products I received this month.

Befine Exfoliating Cleanser
Befine Night Cream
kate spade new york Twirl - 3.4 fl oz
blinc Mascara
LIFTLAB Lift & Fix™ High Potency Solution
Twistband Hair Ties

(I actually didn't realize this was a product! I thought it was part of the packaging until I was in my account over looking everything. So no pic right now... ;-)

Take a look at it's fabulous-ness! haha

Here's what the box looks like.

A letter on-top explaining what they're show casing this month and why.

All nice and neatly packaged...

All un-packaged:

The first product I picked up and tried was the perfume.

Twirl by Kate Spade New York

This mini for your purse is so perfect!

I love how it's an actual spray bottle instead of one of those samples that you have to take the top off and blot it on your skin...doesn't ever seem to go right!...well, for me at least. ;-)

The scent is a really Fresh Fruity Floral. Perfect for summer!

It does kinda make you want to put on a cute summer dress and Twirl around while spraying it on! I've had it on for a couple of hours now and I still love the smell.

Very ladylike, during any time of the day.

I'm so glad I did this!

A perfect little something for me every month that I get all to myself and it doesn't break the bank!

(Now, it does feed my obsession with cosmetics but, hey! Every momma needs something just for her!)

More reviews to come on the rest of the samples I received! Yup, I'm just as excited! ;-) haha

Have a great weekend!

Courtney

Candle Stick Re-Do for under $10

2011-08-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

So, I came across these candle sticks a few months ago on a clearance end cap at Wal-Mart. They were
only $3.99! I couldn't believe it! haha I loved the shape of them. And the base of the sticks are really cute! But not so much on the wood. :-/ Not me at all.

They've been sitting patiently on my counter waiting for me to fix them.

So I finally got around to it...like 3 months later! ;-)

Member my handy dandy palm sander? He came in handy here! I gave a quick sand down on all 3 of the sticks. Cleaned the dust off, then used Rust-oleum's Textured white spray paint. (Which I'm beginning to fall in love with! ;-) Did 3 coats with a good 15 minutes in between. Took my palm sander again to the sticks after they were dry and roughed them up a bit...

And *TA-DA*

Don't they look Fabulous? Eek! I was so excited they turned out so great.

So much better now!

Adn they're now back on their counter all nice and pretty.

(sigh) ;-)

Here's the BEFORE:

And the AFTER:

This project took me an afternoon during nap time. The spray paint dry's super fast and is really easy to work with. My total cost is right around $10 for them. Like I had mentioned before, the candle sticks were $3.99, the paint was almost $5 and I already had the sander and sand paper. If you didn't have a sander this wouldn't hold you back from doing this by the way! You could just pick up a sanding block that runs about $3.50 and use that as well. The sander is just a lot faster and for when you're being lazy!...like me! hehe ;-)

Happy Thursday,

Courtney

Yup, It's Love...

2011-08-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

You know you really do love something when you want to come home and share it with everyone! ;-)

Well, I randomly came across this blog one day called: Paint in my hair. Fell in love with the pieces they re-finished. And knew I had to have one! haha I couldn't take it anymore! Once I saw their latest re-finish post on this coffee table. I had to get in there and get my hands on this piece! I've been searching for the "right" coffee table to help offset our new sectional. I knew it needed to be light since the leather is so dark. And let me tell you. It's so pretty sitting in my living room right now. I think I could just stare at it all day! haha

Okay, okay. I'll stop talking now. And let you look at it's prettiness.

Ohhh those original handles get me every time! ;-)

And the detail on the legs...

She's a little tall but I think I'm going to shave a few inches off the bottom.

(underneath the lines of course! ;-)

UH, I wish I had a better camera so this picture would come out better!

But, I'm so glad someone else's trash is now my treasure!

I stole the BEFORE picture off of the Paint in your hair blog.

But, I just had to show off the fabulous job they did!

Head on over to their blog and check out all of the pieces they have for sale!

They also take custom orders!

And give classes to share with you how to re-finish your own furniture!

http://paintinmyhair.blogspot.com/

Happy Wednesday!

Courtney

Helping spread the word!

2011-08-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

Over at Whipperberry is an amazing giveaway going on...

The pictures pretty much speak for themselves on how adorable this mix and match necklace is!

Head on over to the Mix~n~Match Post to get more details about how you can enter to win!!

Loves,

Courtney

Sneak Peek:

2011-08-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a Sneak Peek at our new

No Soliciting Signs that stake into the ground.

They will be available in Red, Brown, Creme and Black

paint by Benjamin Moore.

With the choice of Black, Brown, and Creme vinyl. The vinyl used is a high quality, UV resistant, coated with an aggressive, permanent, pressure-sensitive adhesive.

We be $15.00 with $5.00 shipping and handling.

I'm so excited!

Can't wait to show you the rest!!

Courtney

PROOF

2011-08-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

Proof that Scentsy really is Amazing! haha

The other night I was cleaning up from a dinner with a friend. Went and wiped the counter down

(a little to quickly) caught the bottom of the cord and Whoops!

Everything came toppling down. Onto, not only my counters, down the inside of the warmer,

but on me as well...

The awesome-ness of Scentsy is that if you just leave it sit for a sec to dry it literally just peels right up! Everything cleaned up perfectly and is back to normal again...:-) And I just dumped the wax back into the warmer again and it re-melted into their yummy Sunkissed Citrus scent! (Fabulous for summer btw!)

And it doesn't burn your skin! We've spilled a lot of wax before. From my husband playing ball in the house... ;-) To just normal everyday. Like Wiping the counters down. haha

We've never had a bad day with Scentsy! lol

This is a bad pic of my hand but, see! No burns! :-)

If you'd like to order yourself some yummy scentsy. My friend Megan is currently having a 10% off sale!

Contact her here: Megsorensen.scentsy.us

Have a great day!

Courtney

Fabric Flower Tutorial

2011-08-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

I know, I know! More flowers? haha Well, they are popular in the Adkins house. ;-) There happens to be one silly little 2 year old that loves these ones! And I've been getting asked a lot how I make them.

There are TONS of ways you can make a fabric flower! There is the no sew kind, the Yo-Yo kind, the Gathering kind, Roses...You name it? You can probably make it out of fabric! haha.

Well, my favorite these days has been a type of a sewed fabric flower. Mainly because I sell them and I use them for a lot of things I make for Allie. I want them to be sturdy and last...especially since Allie sticks hers in her mouth, runs over them...ext. So durability it key for me! haha

To start: you'll need an object that's round. The bigger the circle. The larger your petals are going to be.

I used the bottom of my Mason Jar for the size I sell with my bags on Etsy. But for the headbands and magic wand pictured below, I use an old CD.

Then you'll need your sewing machine, scissors, thread, glue gun, a needle to thread and an iron.

So you'll take your jar/CD/lid (whichever) and trace circles on the backside of your fabric. *Tip: One circle is 2 petals. In this tutorial, I used 3 different fabrics and only made 2 circles on each selected fabric. Followin'?

M-Kay. So after you've traced and cut out your circles. You'll cut them all in half.

Turn them wrong side out. Fold the half circle in half and sew down the straight edge.

One right after the other...

Continuing till you make a fabric "necklace"

Once all your petals are sewed you'll turn them right side out...

Step One:

Step Two:

Step Three: You might need to use scissors or something pointy to push the tip out better

After all of your petals are turned right side out. You'll need to grab your iron (sometimes a little steam is good). Flatten your petal so that the seam is running down the back of the triangulated petal.

(yes. my ironing board has been loved. loved. and loved some more ;-)

Whew. Almost done. The fun part starts now! ;-)

Okay. So you'll take your needle and thread. And make a straight stitch as close as you can to the edge.

Your petal should bunch together and look like this:

K- Once you've got all your petals stitched. You'll bunch them together as tight as you can. Without pulling out your stitch. ;-) And connect the first petal to the last.

Turn your flower over and make a tight double knot...

This is what your fabric flower should look like by this point...

For a lot of the flowers I make. I like to make more than one layer to them. So for this one. I made two set's of the same 6 petals. I then made a circular straight stitch as close together in the middle. Sewing them together. If you look close enough in the center you can see the stitches.

Next, I take a button, something that's round or whatever fits the size of the flower.

And cover it with fabric (and of course use my handy dandy glue gun to hold it in-place ;-)

Squeeze a TON of glue to the bottom of your "button" and glue it to the center of your flower! :-)

Last but not least. I take a little piece of felt and glue it to the back so it adds that finished touch!

And FINALLY you have one heck of an adorable Fabric Flower! ;-)

Hopefully that wasn't to hard to understand?

Here's the one we just made together featured on one of the bags I sell...

The great thing about the ones attached to the bags is that they're only held on by a safety pin. So once the bag isn't being used anymore it can be glued to a head band and used for a toddler bow! :-)

Here's some more example's of what you can do with your flowers!

I made these flowers as part of party favors for Allie's birthday party this past year.

Another example of a head band with a bow...

And the favorite among the little girls is the Magic Wand! :-)

I just took the flower and attached it to a wooden dowel, wrapped in ribbon and Ta-Da. It's a Magic Wand! haha

The possibilities are ENDLESS with Fabric Flowers!

Want more ideas and tutorials for fabric flowers? Go here:

handmadespark.com

Whew. That was a long one! haha

Happy Stitching! hehe

Courtney

Allie's Flower Wall

2011-08-10T14:44:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to share this for awhile now...

But for some reason I just couldn't get very good pictures of Allie's Flower Wall above her bed. My camera is far from anything "special" lol And as I was laying on her floor with her, being total goofs together. I actually got some really cute ones! Since the majority of the pictures I've taken before just look super cheesy. I was so happy! It's been almost a year since her room has been done. And this is SOOO easy putting it together! :-)

**CUTENESS**

To do this all you need is some 50% off flowers from Hobby Lobby! ;-)...

Pull the stem out of the bottom of the flower...

Take some hot glue and stick a tack onto the back of it...Oh, how I heart my glue gun...

(this pic doesn't show it but it's best to buy the tacks without the plastic on them!)

And Wa-lahhh!

You'll have a ton of flowers looking like this and then you just stick them to the wall however your heart desires! Pretty Simple and a quick way to add some seriously Girlishness to a room!

Oh happiness! ;-)

*Hugs*

Courtney

Project: Fail.

2011-08-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well, one of the projects I was working on just didn't turn out like I had envisioned in my head. :-(

But, it did turn into a cute little chalk board for Allie to play with. :-)

(She totally posed herself here! haha)

(Must get new camera!!!)

(Super Cheese?)

Well, it still turned out really cute! Even though it's not what i wanted it to be. Oh well. ;-)

Have a great day!

Courtney

Everyone's Busy Busy!!

2011-08-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm covered in saw dust currently from head to toe...working my little heart out. ;-)

Which has made this little man my new *Bestie*!

And Allie's been chasing Lady Bugs all day...loved the gush of wind in her crazy hair! hehe

Doesn't it mean good luck to find a lady bug?

Well, if you need some. Swing by our house! lol We've got tons! :-)

I think we can't find a new lady bug about every hour here...or maybe the same one just really likes us? lol

Lot's of Love,

Courtney

Obsession with a Pool?

2011-08-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

My daughter is probably the silliest little girl I know!

Who knew right? Well, long story short. She's obsessed with the pool. Loves it. Can't spend a day away from it! haha And when I do try to take it away she somehow seems to find a way to still "incorporate" it into her day. It's really remarkable what little one's come up with!

Here's a look into what Allie does all day!

(pose much? haha)

I've also been really proud of her! She finally finished her summer ready. She had to read 15 books and then was able to pick out a free book from the library. Which I'm pretty sure she's read Skyping with her Dad almost every morning! (I think she's a little proud of herself too ;-)

After she turned in her paper showing the books she completed I took her to get a scoop of Ice-Cream...Adorable. Love spending time with this one. Gosh, how'd I get so lucky?

Okay, so now back to my story about the pool and how Allie uses it every chance she gets to have it in her life...

Hmm...what's different here?...

I realized the other day that Allie was being really quite...On this day in-particular she didn't get a nap so she was way exhausted. I peaked outside thinking she was playing in her house as usual. Did a double take. And could not believe what I was seeing. HAHA

Let's get take a closer look...;-)

She was seriously almost out here...(no, I do not let her sleep with sippy's) I really almost let her fall asleep out there, but little miss caught me...

I guess every little girl has their favorite things to do. And I think she's adorable. So sleeping in her pool that she loves so much is adorable too...

Squeeze your little one/s. They grow up so fast!

What's something you love about your little one/s that super silly?

Enjoy soaking up some sun this August (with sun screen on of course ;-)

Courtney

Hop-Scotch Mat Tutorial

2011-08-02T16:47:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I came across this very cute idea over at A gir l and a glue gun . And since Allie has begun to LOVE hopscotch. I thought we'd give it a try! ;-) And I have to say. It's pretty cute!

And Allie loves it. Of course. haha(Waiting patiently for it to be finished. lol)
In the original tutorial she only uses her glue gun to make the mat. But, I sewed mine a little. So for those of you who don't have a sewing machine or are intimidated by one. Swing by her place! She's got loads of ideas for sewing machine free! ;-)

Okay so to get started you'll need:
-a yard of canvas fabric
-10 multi-colored felt peices
-Hot Glue/Gun
-Ribbon
-And a sewing machine

To Start off cut the yard of canvas in half and sew it down the middle. You could buy yourself 2 yards of fabric and then split the 2 yards and make two and gift one mat. But, I only need one so I just got myself a yard 40% off at Craft Warehouse. And in order for my squares to fit I had to cut it in half to make it longer.
(excuse the mess. haha)
I wanted to hem the edges. So I folded them under twice, ironed it down and pinned in place.At the top end of your mat add in the hem 4 pieces of ribbon. 2 in each end of the mat.
Once you have a completely hemmed around the whole mat. You'll cut your numbers out on your mat.
(I had started this project on vacation. So I don't have any pictures of this process. But, all you have to do it print off numbers 1-10 to fit your felt. Cut them out, trace, and then cut your felt. Real easy m-k?)
As you're gluing the felt to the mat. You just lift up from bottom, apply the glue and then gently lay it back down.
After I had finished gluing the numbers on. I cut and added different sized circles like the original mat too. I mean, it was just to cute not too! :-)
Adorable? Just a *little*!
(For those of you who have fabulous *eyes* please don't judge me and my carpet! lol It still needs to be cleaned this summer!)
Here's a peak at it all rolled up and "put away" (like it will stay that way! ;-)
Get Ready! Set...
GO!
Almost there!
(look at that tongue! hehe)
Well, I love this idea. Great to use in the nice cold house in the afternoon when it's to hot outside right now! That's for sure! haha
Glue your heart out ladies! ;-)

Much Love,
Courtney

2011-08-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

My thought's today...haha At least it made me giggle.

Guest Bathroom Part 2: Mirror

2011-02-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

So before I even get started on this post. Other blogs forgot to mention how hard this actually is. ;-) Well, for someone who's never put together a wooden frame, used liquid nails, and brad nails. It's more challenging than they let on! And it basically took me about 3 trial and errors before I finally got it down and figured out how to get it to work! Thankfully, I had most of the tools here at my house....I've just never used any of them. haha

But, I'm SO extremely proud of myself now! I don't even care if everyone doesn't like them. I'm just so glad I got it done! ;-)

But mostly, I Love Love Love the frames!

I've only gotten one completely finished (ran out of liquid nails due to so many trial and errors!). I was going to wait until I had both of them done. But, I was so excited to share with everyone.

When I got started, all I read on other blogs was they used the liquid nails to hold the frame together. So, in my head; I expected it to hold together as good as nails. I'm mean it's called "Liquid Nails" right!?! And if they did, they must have had a really good jar of Liquid Nails or they were extremely careful because my frame would not hold. Both, Tim and I couldn't even pick it up it before it would just fall apart. Very frustrating! :-/ So basically, I decided "Liquid Nails" is a joke. It's just glue. Not "nails" in anyway! lol

Thankfully, we have a Brad Nail gun "thing-a-ma-bob". This was another frustrating part. I sat and hand nailed one of the frames one little nail at a time. Then...Tim came home (of course after I sat for about 30 minutes cursing the man who invented brad nails) and was like
"Honey, what are you doing? We have the gun that goes with those nails!"

Me: Seriously?

Tim: Yeah, it's right here!

Me: ...

Yeah, it took me less than a minute to nail the second frame together.

It's funny now looking back. but, Oh man was I mad. haha

Okay, I'm done venting now. Here's the process:

1st. Picking your wood is important! And I'm so glad when I picked it out I went with someone! haha (Thanks Regan for teaching me this!!) But, the main thing you want to be careful of when picking out your wood is if it's bent or has knots or has really bad dints in the wood you do not want it. This wood is going to be eye level with everyone. So you want it to be really good wood. This is where I spent my money. On the wood! For two frames I spent about $40ish dollars. BUT, for two custom frames WAY worth the money!!

Now, this next part I got really lucky with. Family is awesome! (Especially when they have the tools you need!! hehe kidding!!) Again, Regan to the rescue had a pull down saw! So, I got my wood cut for free. Well, it took some work between Regan, her husband Mic and I...and some really good measurements. But, we got it done!

After you have it cut. You'll want to flip it over and paint the backs. You'll notice that when you hold up your frame against the mirror it will reflect back the brown wood. Looks kinda funky.

After backs are painted:

2nd. Using Liquid Nails. Well, I've already ranted and raved about the liquid nails. So yeah, the two main things you want to remember is One: you have to use it FAST. Once it's exposed it to the air it starts to set! Apply just enough to coat the inside of the corners. I would take a rag after you've applied it to the all 4 corners. And wipe the access off. Take a putty knife as well, and scrape out any extra that might have fallen into any cracks. (Stinks to have to sand out later) and Second: If you're glue gun does this and pushes out the liquid nails and it sits for awhile:

You do not want to use it! it's already starting to set and it's NO good!
This will just make things worse later! haha.Then, let the Liquid Nails sit for at least 30 minutes. While it's sitting you might have to get a little creative on how to keep the wood even. No matter what, you will have an un-even corner. There's no way around it. Trust me. This bothered me to no end. The perfectionist in me hated it. SO, I put my left over paint cans to good use and let everything sit for a good while and then used these guys:

I already told you my experience with these lovely fellas so let's just skip to the fun part k!?!

Now, this is the only part where the Liquid Nails worked the first time.WA-HOO! ;-)

3rd. Finishing Up! You're going to want to put a lot onto the back of your wood. I didn't take a picture because I was worried about it setting to fast and that it wouldn't hold. But, we finally got it up and taped our little hearts away.

Unfortunately, because I had applied the Liquid Nails so many times to the wood. I had huge gaps between in my corners...sad.

Thanks to my FAVORITE Spackling ever. It fixed my gaps! It was even a pinkish purple color that turns white when it's dry and then you sand and paint. Super easy!
Ahh, finally some luck! ;-)

Slap some up. Let it sit for a minute. I then, cleaned mine up a little with a wet rage so that I didn't have to much sanding later...

Tape for Painting...my favorite part...the easy part! haha

And **TA-DA**
member the corners? Here's what they look like in the end...

(I showed this picture because I was so impressed with the Spackling. This corner was huge! And I thought it was going to look really bad! ha)

Before:

After:

I would say after everything I spend around $50 dollars. On *both* of the frames. NOT bad at all! But, I did have a lot of the supplies already...

Happy Home Improvement Day!

Courtney...

Korker Bows makes the Day better!

2011-01-25T14:28:00.000-08:00

YIKES!!! I have one crabby little girl today.

Ya-know, the little girl who screams "NOOOO" at you while you're walking threw Costco. With huge crocodile tears running down her face, throwing herself back and forth all because you wouldn't let her bring her balloon in with her. The little girl who starts running threw the State Supply store and will absolutely not stay with you so that you can just pick out some dang Shampoo to wash your hair...Wait? Wash? Hmm?? (HAHA Kidding)
Thankfully, she made it out alive. ;-) But, I held off on getting some shampoo...the 3 other sets of shampoo and conditioner will work for now. Yeah, I'm a shampoo & conditioner addict. Especially now. Showers are like: heaven these days.
They're warm, quite, clean, refreshing and Oh so very nice!
Anywho, I thought I'd take some time to clear my mind and blog a little. About a little girl. Who even though is having a rough day. I mean come on. Who doesn't? I do like at least once a week! (Maybe even more than that!)
Well, I wanted to share with everyone these cute Korker Bows I made last week for my little girl. Stinkin' CUTE!
I was really impressed with myself! Especially that it actually worked. So here's what I did:

1. Grabbed some Dowels I had stashed away in my craft closet.
(I had just bought these in Dec. for Allie's b-day and never got around to doing anything with them)
They have all sorts of sizes of Dowels. The smaller Dowel you buy the tighter and curlier your ribbon will be.

2. Then you take your Ribbon and wrap it around the Dowel. You have to make sure you make it nice and tight and that it doesn't over lap each other. Or once you un-wrap the ribbon it will kinda be funky. (see pic below)
(You'll figure this out fast once you start doing them)
A helpful *hint* is to take pins or clips to help you hold the ends of the ribbon in place. I didn't have any when I did this. So, I just tied the ends. But, I wished the whole time I had clips! lol

3. Pre-Heat your Oven to 200 Degree's. Then take your ribbon wrapped around the Dowels and run them under the faucet and get them wet. Put them on a cookie sheet. And then bake them for about 10-12ish minutes. You'll need to watch them to make sure the ribbon isn't burning. Take out of the oven and let completely cool.
(I wrap mine at night while I'm watching TV and bake it right before bed. Then let it sit over night still wrapped in the dowels for the next morning.)

4. Un-wrap your ribbon and stare in "awe". :-)

(Notice the top ribbon? That's what I was talking in step 2.)

5. Cut ribbon about 3 inches.

6. Put Korker Bow together. There are SO many ways to put together your bows. But for me, the easiest way was to lay them in my hand how I wanted them to go. And then in my other hand pinch them all together in the center.

Then take thread and tie them all together with a double knot. I forgot to take a picture of this. But If your little girl is hard on her bows like mine is. I would then take a needle and thread them all together threw the center.

Take hair clips. Helpful *hint*: Go to Sally's and buy the metal hair clips there! You can get a TON for cheap there!

You can either leave them metal or cover them in cute matching ribbon.
I like covering mine in ribbon but, sometimes finer hair doesn't work very well with the ribbon and hold the bow in the hair...
Hot Glue the clip on and
*Wa-Laa*

Love love love
Here's the other one I made. The butterfly makes it so adorable!

Here they are together:

Super Cute and Super Easy!
And Yes. Since then. I've boughten to much ribbon so that I can make more of these for Allie! ;-)

I love my Allie. Even on HaRd Days! After all. She did pick me to be her mom...such a big responsibility!

Glitter Playdough

2011-01-17T16:02:00.000-08:00

Whew. Look at me go! ;-) I'm a posting fool! haha Well, I have lots of posts to catch up on!

Stupid Neuralgia! :-(

I'm really not used to being sick...having to take medicine at certain times a day. Every day. Feeling tired...all of the time. Having family call and see how you're doing and then having to sorta fib to them and tell them you're fine. Mostly I am. It's just frustrating when you're sick every day. When you really don't want to be. So lying and telling them you're fine seems easier. It helps keep the frustration and constant reminder that you really aren't fine. And gives you hope that maybe if you tell yourself over and over again that you are fine, one day you really will be fine. Who knows? Maybe one day that will happen. But, for now I'll keep hoping! ;-) I have a new Endodontist who's really amazing and has lots of hope for me. I've been holding onto that for dear life. Everyday I remind myself I've got him on my side. Lot's of people on my side. Amazing friends and family.
*tear*

ANYWHO, onto the fun stuff! I made Glitter Play Dough...like a month ago. lol. For Allie's Birthday Party. Very cute. And very simple and cheap! Glitter play dough is a great gift (you can even attach cute cookie cutters to it for them) and little ones love it. Even though most moms cringe when they think of play dough. It's still fun every once and awhile.
So, I thought I'd share how it's done.

Here's what ya need:
4 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Non-Iodized Salt
4 Cups Water
8 Tsp Cream of Tartat
4 Tsp Cooking Oil
Food Coloring
Craft GlitterWhoops! Forgot to include the oil I used....
This recipe makes A TON of play dough...We still have lots left over...and it's still good! I can't believe it! ;-)
Next, you'll want to mix the food coloring into the water first. This helps you get the right color for your dough before you start cooking it. Stir that and then add everything else except the glitter.

Cook on med to low heat, continually stirring until done. Careful not to burn. You have to be patient as it's cooking..here's pictures of the process as mine cooked:

It will be super hott when it's done. Dump on the counter and let sit for minute.
Next, take your glitter...

And knead as much glitter into it til' it's as sparkly as you desire! ;-)

It was hard to take a picture of how cute and sparkly it was. But it turned out SO adorable!

I ended up making Pink and Yellow for her party. And then wrapped them in sandwich bags with ribbon. I made cute little hair bows for the girls hair too...very cute, simple, cheap party favor! ;-)

What else can I add glitter too?

Courtney

Guest Bathroom

2011-01-17T15:32:00.000-08:00

So, they other day Tim was giving Allie a bath and I walk in to see what they're laughing about. He stands up, turns around and says:

"Ya-know what babe? We really need to spice up this bathroom!"

I think I went into shock at that point because I don't remember to much after that! haha
I'm mean seriously...this bathroom is in need of some serious help!...way to boring and WHITE for me! ;-)

We have added a cabinet over the toilet for medicines and Allie's hair junk but besides that, nothin'!

Tim never gets into decorating. (I don't blame him...) And I think he regrets those words coming out of his mouth because ever since then I've been taking him serious and getting going on it!

So, okay I'm in need of some help!!
I've decided I want to go with a blue wall color. But, I always second guess myself. I hate that about me. Always trying to pick the "prefect color" sucks! haha
I've tried really hard to take the pictures as best as I can so you can see the colors but they're a little bit different than on the walls than here in the pics...but, hopefully you'll be able to get the idea!?

So the color painted on the wall is Buxton Blue by Benjamin Moore. My favorite paint ever! I really love this color. I bought the sample paint so I can see it and I still really like but, there are other colors that are appealing to me too.

From right to left the colors are:
1. True Blue
2. Blue Mound...very similar to the Buxton Blue
3. Serene Sky...a little lighter but, I think it's nice and fresh
4. Venice Beach...more of a teal color

Here's some more pics to help you see the colors...

Anywho, watcha think?

How did I live with out her before?

2010-11-08T20:55:00.001-08:00

This girl makes everyday *a-mazing*...I'm still, to this day. 23 months later. confused as to why she chose me to be her mom...?

Allie, I can't believe you're almost TWO! You're already so big, how can you get any bigger?

You are so brilliant. You've already learned "NO". It's been a joy. :-)
(can you hear the sarcasm)
Truthfully, behind your back. I think it's the cutest thing in the whole world. But, I will never admit it to your face.
(Unless, you catch me laughing at you one day. I know it will happen and that's when we'll be screwed!)
I love how much you love to read, sing and dance. Your fashion choices are just to die for.
And your love for animals is so awe-inspiring. You're kind...(unless someone has one of your toys. lol) Coloring with you is one of my favorite part of the days. Snuggles with you are so yummy. Amazed that others tell me how good you are in your Nursery class.
(You must get that from your Dad)Thank you for being so Silly and making me Laugh every day.
(Who knew dog kennels, mom's shoes and onion rings were so much fun?)
Thank you for somehow understanding mommy didn't feel good this week and being patient...how do they do that? Creep into your heart and do the sweetest things sometimes?
I know I'm WAY bias here but, I have the greatest 2 year old!

I wish I could be like her sometimes...but, I think I'm good with the whole throwing myself on the floor in public and having a melt down...even though sometimes it's very tempting. ;-)

YAY, for having an okay day and not feeling to bad. Hoping for positive vibes and that everything starts to get better!!?!!

Hug your babies today...*LOTS*!

Courtney...

Cowboy Crayons for SALE! :-)

2010-11-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

SOoo, despite all of the headaches I've had these days (...literally), surprisingly I've been able to do a little work today.

I'm really excited for Christmas and have all ready decided to start working on gifts for everyone.

(All which will be hand made this year...yippie for me ;-) lol

Anywho, I had once shown off these adorable Cowboy Crayons that we put together for our Super Saturday my church does every year.I've been working on putting sets together to sell at a Bazaar this up-coming December and have some time to sell extra's.

If anyone was/is interested, you are in luck! I am now also selling them. On my Etsy site. :( Poor Etsy Shop. I've neglected it so...
So here's the Run-down on them:
- $10 for a set of 8 (In the pictures above there are only 7 but, there will be 8.)
-$3 for shipping
-Payments with PayPal
- They are Crayola crayons
- Colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Black, Brown, Blue and Purple
-And please, keep in mind that every set can vary a little since all of them are handmade!
(Fabric and Ribbon will be the same. Star will look the same, paper might be a different color.)
Any further questions, just ask!

Aren't they SO cute?
Umm, *Yeah*!
And little ones LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

Happy Christmas shopping! :-)

Courtney...

Link to Etsy Shop where you can buy them!
Spoiled Rotten Designs...

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Halloween was really fun for us this year.

Well besides the terrible two's part of it all.
All of the melt downs added that special touch to our memories! ;-)

Allie LOVED being "Blue" from Blue's Clue's! She continues to wear her costume daily. With her ears and mittens on. While she watches Blue's Clue's. What joy. ;-) HA!
Unfortunately, these are the only pictures (I'm serious, the ONLY)
she would let me take of her in it.

(On our way to the Trunk or Treat we do at our church every year)
(Front)
Tim thinks she just looked like a:
"Blue Woolie Polka- Dotted Sheep with bug antennas. lol
People got it though, and of course she loved being called "Blue"!(Back, I forgot to add the tail!) :(
Notice I had to put her on our table so I could get some decent pictures.
Oh, the toddler "Blurs" stage! ;-)

(Ears)
OH man, was I surprised she kept these on. I was originally going to order a Blue's Clue's costume but, knew she would not keep the hoodie part of it on. So long story short. The head band ears worked! :-)
(Feet "Paws")
Had to make her mittens with Blue's Paw print on them:

(These by the way, are now covered in Chocolate! lol)

And of course, we couldn't forget about her Handy Dandy Notebook! :-)
(Thanks Regan for your help!)

Tim had lots of fun handy out candy while Allie sat and ate her candy
And this picture pretty much sums up our Halloween! haha

(Enjoying the moment mom, Terrible Two's little girl, and a multi-tasking dad)

Happy Halloween!

Courtney

Halloween Bandanna Skirt Tutorial

2010-10-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

So, a few weeks ago I came across these Halloween Bandanna's on an end-cap at Wal-Mart:

Cute Right?!!?
I'm not the Bandanna kinda girl but, I thought these were perfect to try and make a skirt for Allie. And for my first ever Bandanna skirt, I am one happy woman! Especially since it took me maybe a half hour to put it all together!

It's so easy! See:

Step One:
Fold in half and steam iron
Cut in half on the fold
I forgot a picture here but, Trim off and inch off of the sides. Your bandanna will have writing on the side and I didn't like it. So I cut mine off. Then fold the bottom hem under to the wrong side and iron in place. *You do not need to double fold because it's already hemmed at the bottom.

Step Two:*This step is optional. But, I thought it added a lot to the skirt. So, I made some ruffles to stick under the skirt. Pinned it in place on the wrong side.

Flipped it over and sewed a hem straight down...repeat with the other half of your bandanna
Here's what your skirt will look like on the right side:

Now, pin the two pieces together, wrong side out and sew straight down.
Back stitching at each end.
(Sorry the picture is sideways!)

Step Three:

This step happened on accident! ;-) I had realized that once I had sewn both ends together I had forgotten to make a spot for the elastic! Whoops! lol
(And I ended up thinking it turned out really cute anyways, so oh well! ;-) But, if you know what I mean with the elastic go ahead and do it the right way. If not, here's what I did:
Turn the top of your fabric over so the right side is now on top of your wrong side. You'll have to take some measurements with your elastic to make sure you have enough fabric turned over. Now, sew a stitch at the top. (In the picture above it's the only seam you see)

Then I made another seam to create a "pocket" for the elastic.

(Here's a bigger picture for ya...kinda confused? lol)
Making sure to leave an opening so I could run the elastic through...measure your little ones tummy around before you cut your piece of elastic. I cut mine to 19 and 1/2 then I trimmed off about two inches once it was in the "pocket" on the skirt.

And, of course I couldn't get to far with out my little helper to come and help me! :-)

Once your elastic is all the way through snip off a little extra like I mentioned above and sew the two ends together.
And here's what it looks like:

*love*
My "Oops" turned out to be great! ;-) lol

And because I know it's like next to impossible to capture a "still" picture of an almost 2 year old I grabbed one before I put it on her!
Umm? Adorable?
YES!Of course I couldn't stop there! I had to make her a bow! hehe ;-)

I was able to catch one good picture of her this morning...it wasn't easy but I got one! :-)

How much do you think it cost me to make? What? Only $2? I know, it's great! The Bandanna was a dollar. I might have used .25cents worth of my elastic and .75 cents for the 1/4th of a yard of tulle I got.

Enjoy your Thursday!!
Courtney

Happy Harvest and Family Blocks

2010-10-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

I think I've become obsessed with wood. LOL

I'm going to end up having Count Down blocks and Block sets for every holiday/occasion you can think of the rate I'm going!! ;-)

Well, while I was a "Deer Hunting Widow" this past week I teamed up with Regan. Who is one crafty lady! ;-) Thanks Regan! I had a blast and I can only speak for myself, but I am super excited about what we came up with this past week!

Take a look:
(Happy Harvest Block Set)

(Cute embellishments...)

("Happy" block...)

I LOVE how the wood turned out! All done with paint...

Now onto our "Family Block" set we came up with:

Sorry for the weird lighting. Put these in Allie's bathroom that is completely white everywhere...still! :( Hopefully, I'll come up with something soon for her. I'm getting tired of it being so boring in there!

(More cute embellishments...)

(love the paper flowers she taught me how to make!!)
One last time since I love this set so much! :-)

SOO much fun to make! Wish I had as much of the neat crafting supplies as Regan has! But, it's okay. I just have a great excuse to go spend some time with her! :D

What do you guys think??

Happy Monday
Courtney

Pumpkin Picking

2010-10-14T07:51:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we went out to pick pumpkins out on Carver Farms and we had a blast! Especially Allie. She could not get over how many pumpkins there were. She would pick one up, carry it around with her for a good 10 minutes and then drop it and find another favorite.

I would look behind me every once and awhile and notice she would just walk like this with her hands in her pockets. I don't think she has her hands in her pockets in this picture but it was still way cute. Sometimes she would get to carried away if she didn't watch where she was going and trip over her toes. But, she was tough and would get right back up to carry more pumpkins!

She was dead serious about making sure she got the right one! :-)

She finally the one she liked the most and ended up carting it around the most (we ended up getting her a different one) but, she found another little pumpkin as well and would not go anywhere without both of them. Way cut. She kept dropping them and going "Uh!" Bend back over for the 4th time and pick them up again...

Tim and I did really good too! (BTW, it was Tim's idea to hold the pumpkin in the picture! haha)

We had quite the packed car on the ride home! Carver Farms has much more than just Pumpkins! So needless to say, we picked WAY more than we had originally thought! ;-)
Here's everything we picked after I got it home and cleaned it:

Carrots, Strawberries, Gourds (for decorations), Tiny Pumpkins, Zucchini (the biggest I've ever seen!), tomatoes, and the yummiest corn ever!

And here's everything we got for our front porch:

I had no idea that this is what Popcorn looked like:

Tim reached down at one point and picked this gourd up and said " Hey, this one's kinda cool!" I was like "Tim! It looks like a ghost! We have to get it!" LOL So I brought him home, cleaned him up, and drew eyes and a mouth on him...Anyone know if you can preserve gourds?? haha
The best part about how much fun we had and everything we got was the cost! We paid a grand total of $24 dollars for everything! Carver Farms is very friendly and welcoming. I can't wait for their Christmas sales! Now off to chop tons of Zucchini! lol

Courtney

Marker Anyone??

2010-10-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

So the other day Allie came into the office while I was checking my e-mails and I noticed she had marker all over her. I don't really see the point in getting mad over it. I simply just repeat to her that we don't color on our self.

Until I left the office to make her lunch did I see the following:

Oh man was I heated. Our couches aren't the best anyways and I'm always feeling like I have to clean them. And just the other day she did this (not so extreme) in black pen. So to add blue marker onto the frustration of trying to keep a clean house just really didn't made my day! LOL Poor Allie. I think for the first time ever she knew Mom was mad.

But, I did succeed in cleaning them! Thanks to my two favorite cleaning products:
Shout and Woolite OXY Deep

Here's a picture before I cleaned the couch:And here is one after I cleaned the same spot:

Whew! Thank goodness it came out. So, all is good again in the Adkins house. And we once again have freshly shampooed couches! (for the 4th time in 3 1/2 months) lol

...Happy Fall...

Courtney

Fall is my Favorite season

2010-10-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

I seriously cannot believe it's 20 days until Halloween! Wasn't it Spring break yesterday? ;-) Well, to me these past few months have gone by SO fast. We've had a lot going on in our family. Husband came home from Korea, Bought a house, landscaped a backyard, re-opened my Etsy shop, and everything else that has happened in between. I also did a Super Saturday at our church this past weekend. I taught a class on how to make these adorable count down blocks. (see picture above) I did this one as an example for everyone, but we actually made Christmas ones. Okay sorry, back to the topic. I love fall. It's my favorite season! And even though I can't believe it's already here, I'm really excited!

Some of my favorite things I love about fall are:

...Pumpkin and Ginger scented candles...

...Pumpkins everywhere...

...Fall Inspired candy dishes...
(that are supposed to be full of Candy Corn)

...Again, Pumpkins...

What do you love most about Fall?

Oh, we've also finally decided that Allie will be "Blue" from Blue's Clue's this year for Halloween. Now, if I can talk Tim into being Steve! Isn't that so cute!?!? I love the idea. His response was "Really Courtney? Not happenin'...well, what are you going to be from Blue's Clue's??" lol But, I'm still hoping I can get him to go for it!! I really wouldn't mind being Magenta...but, I'm not sure how I'd look in all on color! Maybe Mrs. Pepper??? Who knows. We'll see.

...Happy Fall...

Re-Opening Of Spoiled Rotten Designs!

2010-09-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to get things going again with my Etsy shop! It's been a long time since I've wanted to sell something, and I couldn't be happier with my decision! Having an Etsy shop is a lot of work. Some don't realize how much time on the computer it takes to list an item and then promote it and keep it lookin' good for your viewers! ;-) Selling your work is a huge complement to me. I love putting effort into something and then letting someone take it and love it too. But, I feel like it's an even bigger compliment that someone would want to buy my patterns. I've had lots of suggestions and questions about when I'm going to sell the pattern to my bags. So with lots of contemplation I decided to go for it! I'm so excited to share this pattern with everyone so you can feel the satisfaction of making something and giving it away. This pattern is so simple!
A beginner could make it if they really wanted too!

Thank you to everyone who is so supportive of my work. It means a lot. :-)

The pattern should be available by the end of this week. (So exciting!!!) There will be two different patterns you can buy. A $4 pattern or a $5 dollar pattern. One will be the simpler bag of the two, and the other will have the accent fabric and ribbon you could add.
Just depends on your taste!

Hope you enjoy!?!!

Happy weekend!
Courtney

Flower Pillow

2010-09-03T08:28:00.001-07:00

The cuteness continues as I finish up Allie's Room. (So close!) I'm so excited for the "big" reveal! hehe Anywho, I think I'm beginning to get a little addicted to making pillows. This is the second one in just a couple of weeks and I have more plans for more! Yikes! lol

So, I had started making this pillow a few days ago and finally finished last night.

I had come across the idea at Cluck Cluck Sew . I love love love her ideas. She's one talented woman! ;-)

Here's my take on her flower pillow.

Very simple to do. You're supposed to use felt as the flower petals but I had so much fleece left over from Allie's blanket I had made a couple of weeks ago I thought I would give it a try. And wha'do ya know? It worked! And it's nice and soft. I used probably 1/3 of a yard of the fleece, a fat quarter I had left over (the green fabric) and a half a yard of some pink fabric as the back of the pillow. The flower turned out bigger than I had wanted but it's still very cute! And I made it! (smile)

Here are some images of the "making of" the pillow...

(cutting out the fleece circles)

(Getting them all together to pin on)

(Pin on, over and over again...lol)

(Sew away)

And after many layers of petals...this is what you get!

**LOVE**

Very cute and nice and easy! ;-) Now off to clean up. (The worst part about a project! ;-)

Happy Friday!

Courtney

One of these days...

2010-09-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

One of these days...

One of these days I will kiss my husband for like an hour.

One of these days I will take a vacation.

One of these days I will get pedicure.

One of these days I really will quit Diet Dr. Pepper.

One of these days I will go to bed before midnight.

One of these days I will potty train my baby girl.

One of these days it will be my birthday.

One of these days I will finally lose my last 20 pounds.

One of these days it will be my anniversary.

One of these days I will take my husband on a date to the movies.

One of these days I will deep clean my whole house.

One of these days I will organize all of my crafts and fabric and make them pretty.

One of these days I will make another baby.

One of these days I will plan a schedule.

One of these days I will re-open my Etsy Shop.

One of these days I will have to say good bye to my husband again for another deployment.

One of these days I will get up on time and do YOGA every morning.

One of these days I will play the piano again.

One of these days I will completely stop biting my nails.

But...not today.

Courtney

Cowboy Crayons

2010-09-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

So our ward is getting ready for our Super Saturday and I was tasked with putting together some of the crafts. Today I finished my first project. Take a look.

They are too cute. And your little boy will love to find them in his stocking on Christmas morning...and you will love how cheap they are to make! :-)

A box of Crayons (maybe a $1)
Sticks from your back yard (free)
One cute husband to drill holes in the center (A few kisses and hugs will do! ;-)

Are these SO cute. I can't take all of the credit. (They weren't my idea.) I just got the pleasure of putting them together! :-) Well...Tim did most of the work actually. lol But, he's been kind enough to let me take most of the credit! ;-)

I'm sure most of these like all crayons will be lost by the time Christmas morning is over but the idea is a lot of fun. And I'm sure some little boys will LOVE them.

Happy Crafting!

Courtney

Liquid Laundry Soap

2010-09-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love being Self Reliant?

Anywho, the other night at Enrichment we had a laundry soap making class. I've never tried to make laundry soap. (I tend to be pretty picky about my laundry soap.) But, this soap is amazing. And it's WAY cheap! I haven't actually bought the ingredients yet for myself. But I did catch a glimpse at someone else's receipt and they did great for how much laundry soap they got! $10 (with tax) for 6 gallons of laundry soap! I mean hello! Amazing! hehe

Plus, it doesn't "sudz" so you can use it in a front loading washer and know it won't hurt it.

Okay, onto the recipe!

1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap (5.5 oz bar)
1/2 Cup Washing Soda (not baking)
1/2 Cup Borax Powder
1 TBSP Essential Oil (You can find them at Michael's)
(2) 1 Gal Plastic jugs with lids

Step One-
Grate soap (we used cheese graters) and put into large saucepan with 6 cups of water over medium heat. Heat until water and soap melt.
Step Two-
Add washing soda, borax and oil. Stir until oil is dissolved. Set timer for 5 minutes over heat and stir occasionally. Remove from heat and let sit another 5 minutes.
Step Three-
Using a funnel put 1/2 of the mixture in each 1 gal jug. Fill each jug 1/2 way with hot water and shake. Finish filling the jug to the top with hot water, and shake again.
Step Four-
Set aside for 24 hours. And when soap is gelled and looks like egg whites your soap is finished!

Use 1/3 to 1/2 cup per load. (Depending on size)
Optional- Use 1/2 cup Vinegar to act as a softener for your clothes

Some of the lady's chose to buy a 5 gallon bucket and mix everything together and others (like me) chose to just use a 2 quart juice container. Personally, I'm glad I used the smaller containers so it's easier to pour into my mixing cup and re-shake since sometimes the soap and water separate...

Have Fun!! :D

She's One Busy Bee

2010-07-10T10:01:00.001-07:00

We've been nice and busy this past week! We got to go down to the Tri-Cities area and spend some time with Tim's family. Tim spent the majority of his time out on the boat fishing with his uncle and I got to do card making with Regan while Allie hung out with Michaela and Jordan. Then the next day Tim did more fishing and Allie and I snuck off with Melissa. She even treated me to a pedicure while she took Allie out for lunch. Did I mention it was Tim and I's birthday's? And that we got to see Eclipse? Best movie out of all 3 of them. The acting was WAY better, the special effects were awesome and they actually looked "pretty" instead of really washed out "fake" vampires. I'm excited for Breaking Dawn. :-)

Anywho, even though we were only there for 2 1/2 days Allie was one Busy Bee! Here are some pictures from her adventures this week...

She Swam just about every chance she could...

She drove around like Big Girls do...

We had to say hello to the Moo Cows!!

Of course we picked flowers!! ;-)

We spent a morning picking Raspberries with Melissa and Oh man did she LOVE it! :-)

So yummy!

We soaked up some summer sun...

The kitty was missing it's twin girls who were off visiting there Dad. So Allie got to step in and let the kitty snuggle and play with her...she didn't mind! hehe ;-)

She could not stay away from the horses!

Thanks for looking! Hope you're enjoying your summer!

Courtney

Toddler Blocks

2010-07-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

This is WAY late. But the beginning of June I came across this shop on Etsy. Really cute shabby chic toys and decor for your little one. And I'd been wanting blocks for Allie to play with so she could stack them and of course throw them around a little...ya, NOT! LOL That's probably the only bad thing about them. Giving her the ability to throw in 2" blocks everywhere. And then of course trip over them when you've got a arm full of laundry! ;-)

Unfortunetly, I wasn't really happy with the seller. It took me alomst a month to get my order. :( I wrote her about 2 weeks after i put my order in and she hadn't even shipped them yet but didn't let me or any of the other buyers she had she was very overwhelmed and couldn't pay attention to her shop. So another 2 weeks later I finally got my order. BUT, I really like the blocks and the fact that it came in a cute little kit so I'm not really complaining to much. The wait just stunk. ;-)

Anywho, I thought I would do a little tutorial on how I did them. Because they were SO easy! And you can probably get everything you would need at Micheals or a local craft store.

Here's what you need:

- 2" Raw wooden blocks. (I got 12)

- 72 images to make your set.

(You can use anything from family pictures, to the letters of the alphabet)

- Glaze and Varnish

- A sponge brush to apply the Glaze and the varnish

- A file to sand the edges

Now, before you get stared lay out all of your images. And put together what you want on each block. I messed up and just started putting what I wanted on the blocks and so i have like 3 blocks that just have numbers on them instead of a mix of numbers, letters and pictures.

Then take just a little drop of some of your glaze and brush it onto your block. Then place the image you want onto the surface. Rub until all of the bubbles are gone. And repeat on all 6 sides. Let the blocks sit for a good 30 minutes before you continue.

Once you're done with that set your blocks should look like this:

Now from here you can just leave the paper the way it is and add the varnish onto it a couple of times. Wait a good 15 mintues in between each layer of it and then you would be done. Or you can follow these next directions:

Take a regular nail file and file the edges of the paper away. I liked mine file off a lot but you can do it just a little bit too. File each 6 sides and repeat on the other blocks.

Once you're done this is how your block should look. I even filed a little on top of the picture to "age" it even more. Wipe excess dust off with a dry rag and clean your work area a little.

Okay, ya with me so far? ;-)

So the last big step! You'll take the Varnish and add just a little drop again, (I would wrinse the brush out you used with the glaze first) and apply to all sides. Let sit for a good 30 minutes between applications. I applied the varnish 3 times just to make sure the paper was good and covered...

And here's your final product!

Aren't they so adorable? Well, I love them. And we've used them a lot since I put them together. This was a really fast project. Once I had everything it just took me the day. And I mean "day" by: put the varnish on, wait 30 minutes, do a load of laundry, then come back and do it again "day".

Happy Craft Day!

Courtney

Common Kindness

2010-07-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

For those of you who coupon you have to check out this site. For every coupon you print (and yes they're free to clip) CommonKindness.com will donate 5 cents to a charity of your choice. :-) It's very awesome. And you feel like you're doing a little bit of good by saving you money! Even better.

Have fun saving!

Courtney

Spoiling my Kitchen

2010-07-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned in a couple of posts before that I would share part of my anniversary gifts my husband bought for me. So for the past couple of weeks I've been using them and Oh man were they worth every penny! They weren't really that cheap...which isn't something I would normally buy but hey, It was my anniversary without a little one so I felt completely okay with buying something tooo expensive that I normally would have never done and ended up spending my money on something for Allie instead! Sound Familiar? ;-)

Anywho, something that I hate when I'm cooking is getting food on the counters because you have no where to put your spatchula. Or you put it in a laydle and you still end up having another step for clean up (having to wash it out). So most of the time you end up having you counters that look like this:And especially if you're already limited on counter space. And in this apartment we are definetly short on counter space.

So when I came across this obvious space caver kitchen "tool" I couldn't resist!

Isn't it the coolest thing ever! Works amazing and now I don't have anymore kitchen counter mess to clean up after I'm done cooking. And I feel kinda horrible since I cannot remember what store we went into and I threw away the packaging so I have no idea what it's even called. LOL But, I'm so glad it's mine and I get to brag about it! ;-)

Now onto the next thing! ;-) I LOVE LOVE LOVE to bake. I would bake something everyday if it wasn't so bad for you. hehe I love the way your house smells when you do! (including doing laundry) It's so inviting to smell something yummy being baked when you walk into someones house! So I picked up these silicone molds for cup-cakes.

I loved the summer colors of this set. They had a bunch of different ones you could choose from but I thought these were cute and fun for the summer season. So, I whipped up some yummy blueberry muffins and got baking.

It says on the back to make sure you spray with Pam first before filling them with your batter.

Filled them up and got them in the oven. YUM.

And then I pulled them out and...WHOOPS:

I filled them up to much!!! LOL They were still yummy tho.

So a few days later I made some healthy banana bread with wheat flour and wheat germ (SO GOOD BTW) And they were "healthy" so I didn't feel bad about eating almost all of the cup cakes I had made! hehe ;-)

SUCCESS! :-)

The yummy banana chunks melting over made them even more yummy. The best thing about the molds is they are so easy! The bread just slipped right out. No more flipping over the pan and watching as all the cup cakes go flying everywhere, no more forks trying to pry them out of the pan. Just easiness...lol is that even a word?

To cute. Way worth getting. And it's been lots of fun in our kitchen.

Hmm...what's next for dessert?

Thanks for reading! Have a fabulous day! :-)

Courtney

Finger Puppet Fun

2010-06-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

So I've been a little bored since we've been in Spokane. You'd think I'd be used to all the waiting! ;-) And since Allie now is VERY busy in church these days I've been trying to find an activity for her that would keep her entertained for a good portion of sacrament.
Well, I came across these finger puppet patterns on: http://www.theidearoom.net/ I love love love her blog. Always something new to do and it's never really that hard. Anywho. I bought her patterns and I've been one busy bee since then.

I bought the patterns for $3.00 that included 18 puppets and a little over $3.00 on the felt. Way cheap! And I had to run out and buy a hot glue gun, glue, a marker, eyes and sissors since mine are all still in storage. :( But I think I spent about $10.00ish dollars for just aboput everything. And if I had waited until I had all of my stuff I probably would have only spent about $8.00 So, I'm finally all done with all 18 of them and i even came up with a Bee. He's really cute. Until you look at his mouth! LOL

The Elephant's my favorite. To cute!

And my top 5 Favorites are the Cow, Horse, Lion, Elephant, and the Frog.

And most importantly, Allie LOVES them! And man am I glad! Cutting all of those little tiny peices out sure was time consuming!! I was originally planning on making a couple of sets for some other toddlers that I know but after sitting down and making a set I've realized it's just tooo crazy to think I could make even another set! LOL

But it sure was a lot of fun. And I'm really happy with them! can't wait for my DIY Block Kit comes that I ordered from Etsy! :-)

Courtney

Happy 3rd Anniversary

2010-06-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

So this is a little late. I've been trying to put more effort into my blog. And actually sitting down and keeping all of my thought's Out-Side of my head instead of inside! LOL Tim and i were able to sneek off for our 3rd anniversary last week. And man it was SO worth it. Tim and I missed celebrating together this past year since he's been deployed and he'll probably be deployed for our next anniversary (tear) so we went all out this year! And, I'm so glad we did. It was such a great way for us to re-"connect" with eachother and get back on the same page. We checked into the Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane and enjoyed the valet parking!! ;-) Let me tell you, such a beautiful hotel. I loved all of the character and sadly the only picture I got was a picture of the the old mail shoot. Very cool. I wanted to get a picture of the original box they sent the mail to...but, i forgot!

Then, we made it to our room. And my oh my was it nice! King size bed, with granite counter tops and marble floors in the bathroom with a HUGE shower and a nice deep bath tub that Yes, I enjoyed all to myself! The crazy thing is you can go down to the "gift shop" and buy the bed, bedding and the mattress.

I SO wish this was my counter top in my bathroom. So pretty. The brown granite was to die for..well not really but, you know what I mean! lol

After we checked out the room and hung out for a little we headed down to the spa for a couple's massage. The most wonderful spa experience I've ever had. It makes me want to take my resume in and go back to work. Ah, so nice when I worked at the spa. The best job I've ever had. No drama, so relaxing all the time, and I just had a blast helping people relax and pamper themselves. Hmmm? who knows. Maybe one day...anywho, had a fabulous massage and then relaxed next to a fire place together with some cider until we finally peeled ourselfs off the couch and got dressed. I think we were ready for lunch so that's how we got away from the spa. If not we seriously would have spent all day there...

So we headed off to PF Changs down the road for lunch (so delicious!) and did some shopping. I got these amazing silicone cup cake forms. I can not wait to try them. (I have to let you all know how it goes!) And these awesome laydle holders. I hate when you get food all over the counters and then it dries and you have to soak it with cleaner before it comes off. It makes me want to make dinner right know so I can try them out! hehe JK I started to not feel really good so we went and took a load off for a few hours before dinner and enjoyed relaxing in our room. When all of the sudden I realized I didn't know where Tim was. Then all of the sudden a knock came from the door and it was Tim with a dozen Roses and the most delicious Godiva chocolates.

I forgot to take pictures of them in the hotel so I snapped a quick pic here at the apartment...
So Pretty! I love the purple mixed in with the roses.

SO, after our very filling lunch and choclates we had reservations at the Clinkerdagger restraunt right next to the river. I have no idea how I ate so much food! It kinda was an overload but at least it was good right? hehe ;-) Tim ate all of his 20 OUNCE stake! LOL

I didn't think he was going to be able to do it after all the food we'd eaten all day but he did. Darn, lost the bet! :( We had such a great view too.

So far I love everything about Spokane! There is so much to do here. We've done so much already and it seems like everyone I talk to they end up telling me of something I haven't heard of yet. :-) Such a happy camper!

We ended dinner with a complitmentry dessert. Whew, SO MUCH FOOD! LOL And headed to the IMAX theater and saw Iron Man 2. Wow, a movie right! That's been a while. And even though it was just Iron man it was really nice to see a movie. Hopefully, I'll get to sneek away and see Twilight saga:Eclipse! Anyone want to come?

Happy Anniversary babe! I love you!

Thanks Melissa for watching Allie for us! We really appreciate it. You're an amazing woman! Love ya! :-)

Mommy Manic Monday Give away

2010-02-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to share this with everyone! It's really exciting! This month I am giving away a free custom diaper organizer from my Etsy shop!

Check out what Frankie wrote about my bags here: Stylized Portraiture.
Just send an e-mail on their blog about which bags is your FAV. And that's it.
It's that simple! :D

Here are some great pictures to share with everyone.
I love what they did with the bags and the kiddos look sooo cute! I can't wait to see who wins! Good luck everyone! To see more pictures visit my fan page at:
Spoiled Rotten Designs Fan Page

Courtney...

Allie's Rag Quilt

2010-01-22T16:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I never make anything for Allie. I guess everything's "inspired" because of her but I never sit down and actually make anything for her. Crazy, I know right! LOL : ) So the other day, I stopped at Hobby Lobby and came across this fabric and fell in love with it and thought it was so Allie. Anywho, So far I've made her her own cute rag quilt.

I love it and so does she. (I'm so thrilled that she is! hehe) It wasn't even that hard. And it only took me two days!
(with interruptions of a one year old and the daily grin of a stay at home mom.)

Here's Allie helping me take pictures of the blanket and roll around on it (with her left over pizza face from dinner) for me so it's perfect! ; )

I also cut out an "A" and stuck it on a corner for her name. Love it. To cute! : )

I used a cream Chenille as the backing. Super soft and snuggly. But I wouldn't recommend using it. Nor will I use it again probably. Since it kinda sheds. (LOL) It wasn't hard to sew, it was just everywhere while I was sewing it all together. And you normally cut the end of the fabric to make it look "raggy-like" but since it was everywhere already I just left it and called it good.

I also had plenty of scraps to put together her own diaper organizer. I hadn't made her one of the bags in my new design. So I thought with the left overs I would make her a matching one. And I love it. It's one of my favorites I've put together so far. (I love having a little girl...so much fun!)

I have more to come with this fabric. I'm currently working on a cute layered skirt. I've never made a skirt before so we'll see how goes it! hehe : )

Happy Friday!

Courtney

P.S. Here's Rag Quilt Instructions if you wanna give it a try! It's lots of fun!!

HollyMarie Jewlery

2010-01-08T18:16:00.000-08:00

Okay so I have to spread the word about these necklaces I found the other day. I had to run Allie into her pediatrician and was reading the monthly BabyTalk magazine. I saw this necklace and thought it was so beautiful! And I couldn't wait to get home to look it up online!

I quickly sent the link to my husband in hopes of sending him subtle hints for this years mothers day!! ;)

Aren't they just pretty?? I think so! :D

Check her site out! She is so very much talented!

www.hollymariejewerly.com

Have a Fabulous weekend.
Court

Adkins Christmas 2009

2010-01-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

We hope your holidays are full of lots of love.

We had a wonderful Christmas morning together as a family. Allie of course was S-P-O-I-L-E-D! But we enjoyed spoiling her. hehe ;)

My parents Christmas tree that we used for the day. LOL

Tim and I the night before after we finished wrapping all the presents and setting them under the tree.

Me and my Absolutely Adorable Allie-bug early that morning.

Yes. Miracle Blades. My husband has wanted these for forever. Ever since we got married all I've heard about is Miracle Blades. So, after 3 years I gave in and got him his Miracle Blades...sadly, they are still in the box and are now in my parents attic for another 4 months before he gets to use them. LOL

Allie in her "I've been good all year" PJ's. I had to get them for her. And she looked so cute in them. Such a big girl. :D

Merry Christmas once again and a happy New Year!

POWER SHADES

2010-01-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

So, we decided to go Christmas shopping for our Christmas Day the day before "Christmas". (Which we celebrated this year on Dec. 18th since Tim left on the 20th) Well, Allie and her daddy are so funny together. I'm really sad for her that Tim is not around right now but, we only have a few more months being separated before we start our new adventure together in Spokane, WA. Tim and her are so close it's not even funny. He can get her to do just about anything.

Example: The Power Shades. LOL

I can never, I mean never get her to keep anything on her head, face, feet, or hands. And then Tim comes in the room and she keeps it on for him. Oh well, I loved taking these pictures. She was to cute!

I heart them.

Our Allie-Bug is turning One!

2010-01-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

My Allie-Bug turned One!!

Holy cow where did the time go right? Well, I was so happy for her. She got to have her daddy with her on her 1st birthday. And the opportunity to be with her grandparents and uncles.

Her cute little birthday cake. I had another cake made but it was not worthy of a picture posted...yes, I was that disappointed in it... :(

She got a lot for her birthday...this one's from her Gam-ma. And of course the one she played with the most! LOL

North Carolina

2010-01-04T17:53:00.001-08:00

Welcome to North Carolina!
As a family we LOVE to travel and see everything we possible can. Well this past summer I learned how to sew. For real this time. I had done a little sewing when I was little but never took it to seriously. Then once Tim left and I was a stay at home mommy with a lot of time on my hands...I gave it a try. And so now as we know it I love it and love even more making things for Allie and for babies. And now I sell my bags on Etsy. But before I sold them on Etsy, I went around selling them all over GA with my mom. Well, one vending event I showed up at and set up next to an elderly gentleman and his wife. His name was Reverend Paul Brown. A Vet who is now a changed his life and set out to help others in need. He loved photography and wood working. (I ended up buying one of his bowls, they were gorgeous! Can't believe I don't have a picture!! :( ) Anyways, long story short. He told me about a cabin in North Carolina he and his wife love to go to. Swan Cabin. The picture he had of it was absolutely beautiful. Well, I was so excited about everything he told me about it that I had to get reservations. Especially since Tim loves to go camping. So a few days after Tim got home. We set out on our adventure.
And oh boy was it one! ;)

Tim and Allie on the front porch of Swan Cabin...see our smoke coming out on top? I loved it.

Tim cooking me his Um, Yum, Oh boy, deliciously famous breakfast burritos. Unfortunately, I couldn't even taste them! I was sooo upset. Our nights rest was HORRIBLE! I had woken up the day before with a cold. Never go camping with a cold...it's just miserable. Anyways, besides how freezing it was, Tim's truck getting stuck, in the mud, on a hill, against a tree. It had been pretty rough. Thankfully, God must have heard us freaking out and sent "Coon" hunters to our rescue. I was pretty amused at who he sent to rescue us, but was thankful. Allie and I froze so this morning was a very cold, hungry, wet, and tiring morning. But we had good food right?? LOL

See the sickness, and a frozen baby?? LOL

North Carolina is so beautiful. Hopefully one day we'll get to come back again. :D

Unfortunately, because it was so cold and we all started to feel sick, we weren't able to stay for our two nights. :( Yup, we chickened out and went into town and stayed at a local inn. LOL Hey, all I have to say is I was finally warm again! And to get medicine and shower in warm water was the best extra $50 we spent to stay there! LOL
So after our warm nights rest we got up and decided to stop and shop our way home. There were so many cute road side stores. There are so many in the south. You find the coolest stuff. Well, we came to Tallulah Falls, GA. It was beautiful there. Well, honestly the falls isn't very big. But the area around it is gorgeous. And there was this ridiculously cute shop next to it. So we stopped and enjoyed it together. :D

Isn't the shop cute?

We even got us some "old-time" candy as Tim called it...LOL...Is was really cute and very rustic.

But even though is was freezing and we were sick we still had a fabulous time together as a family. It will be something we all never forget! If you're ever looking for a fun adventure with your family Swan Cabin is definitely a fun adventure! :D

I heart him.

2010-01-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

I can't begin to express how happy I am now that Tim is home. It feels so right to have a husband again! hehe Plus the extra help is really nice! And he's super cute. I think I'll keep him around! :D

And now Allie is in her big girl car seat! AHHH!
When did I have a baby in a big girl car seat??
This growing up thing is happening toooo fast...
and I don't like it. But she is absolutely adorable in
it and i think she likes it a bit better! ;)

If you give a mouse a cookie...

2010-01-04T17:36:00.000-08:00

I have so much to update about! Especially everything we did while Tim was home on his mid-tour! The first thing I have to share is "If you give a mouse a cookie" mouse. First of all our family LOVES that book! (I think my mom lives by it actually) and second, he's just cute. So I was soo excited when we were at Kohl's one morning and they had all of the books and the stuff animals that go with them! The were apart of the Kohl's for kids program...Well, we had to have one. And apparently so did Allie. She ran right over to the mouse picked him and carried him around with her for the rest of the day. It was really to cute! :D Still to this day she loves him. Norman is his name...no idea why but, he's Norman. LOL

Dirty Diapers

2009-11-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

So yesterday Allie had a stinky diaper. Which meant I was about to have to wrestle her just to change it! :D So I got everything together. Got the diaper ready, the wipes out and ready. Undressed her, held her down and finally I cleaned her up. Let go for a brief second and looked up to see her turned around with her naked tush bouncing up and down to the music on the T.V. The funnest thing I've ever seen! LOL I wish I had had the video camera near me for everyone to see. I at least got some pics! hehe

Starting A Blog!

2009-11-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

So, I had to start a blog for our family. One: because Tim is gone right now and I'm bored! LOL yeah right! ;) Two: Allie is doing so much right now! I cannot believe how fast she is growing these days. And Third: We do so much as a family I have to start documenting these things before I forget about everything when I'm old! hehe...plus I believe in having a journal, but terrible at keeping up with them! So I figured this should count in some way...right??!!

Courtney

Our Little Life...

Couponing trips for 2 weeks

Couponing Week Three

September Birchbox

Yup, she's got Independence!

Couponing Week Two

Some Serious Cuteness

Blinc Mascara Review

Brighten her day...

Couponing Week: One

Lima Bean Wreath

No Soliciting Signs Available Now!

The Lost Energy Month and Befine Exfoliating Cleanser Review

August BirchBox

Candle Stick Re-Do for under $10

Yup, It's Love...

Helping spread the word!

Sneak Peek:

**PROOF**

Fabric Flower Tutorial

Allie's Flower Wall

Project: Fail.

Everyone's Busy Busy!!

Obsession with a Pool?

Hop-Scotch Mat Tutorial

Guest Bathroom Part 2: Mirror

Korker Bows makes the Day better!

Glitter Playdough

Guest Bathroom

How did I live with out her before?

Cowboy Crayons for SALE! :-)

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Bandanna Skirt Tutorial

Happy Harvest and Family Blocks

Pumpkin Picking

Marker Anyone??

Fall is my Favorite season

Re-Opening Of Spoiled Rotten Designs!

Flower Pillow

One of these days...

One of these days I will take my husband on a date to the movies.

Cowboy Crayons

Liquid Laundry Soap

She's One Busy Bee

Toddler Blocks

Common Kindness

Spoiling my Kitchen

Finger Puppet Fun

Happy 3rd Anniversary

Mommy Manic Monday Give away

Allie's Rag Quilt

HollyMarie Jewlery

Adkins Christmas 2009

**POWER SHADES**

Our Allie-Bug is turning One!

North Carolina

I heart him.

If you give a mouse a cookie...

Dirty Diapers

Starting A Blog!

PROOF

POWER SHADES