A few weeks ago I entered to win a free all day conference pass to

Casual Bloggers Conference

and I WON!!! I couldn't believe my eyes when they announced my little twitter comment won! If you live in Utah, you should really think about going. They will be some amazing speakers like Courtney, Becca and Kristina.

They are offering an early bird discount if you register before the end of February. Let me know if you are planning to attend. I would love to meet up and chitty chat.

Busy!

Sorry for such a long delay in blogging lately. Life has been taking precedence over blog land.

As a family we have really been enjoying the Olympics. I just couldn't believe when I was dating my husband that he hadn't grown up watching the Olympics! I corrected that problem right away, and I must admit he is quite the Olympic junky now.

I also recently finished this book; Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. I put everything on hold to finish this 970 page book. The laundry, dinner, dishes....I just couldn't put it down. I do give this book an (R) rating, but all the great things in between more than make up for it. ***Side note: Before suggesting a book to a friend, I always give it a movie rating. For instance: if what I was reading were on the movie screen what would it be rated?****

Makin' Whoppie

Now I am not talking about the Whoppie your all thinking about. I am talking about W-H-O-P-P-I-E! i.e. lets celebrate and having a good party. I thought up this fun game to play with your kids come Valentine's Day.

Whoopie Game:
All you need is:
Balloons x 7
Paper
Zany Ideas
7 valentine prizes

Channel your inner Whoppi and think of 7 crazy, zany, fun games. Here are 7 examples:
Try and eat a dollop of whip cream off your nose/chin, first one finished wins.
Put an ice cube down your shirt and make it come out your pant leg, first ice cube out wins.
See who can last the longest having their feet tickled.
Do the chicken dance with your feet tied together, dance it faster and faster until only one person is left standing.
Rub your tummy and pat your head for 15 seconds. Rub your tummy, pat your head and jump on one foot. Continue to add more tasks until only one player is left.
Play chubby bunny, most marshmallows in mouth wins.
Blind fold everyone and them search for the whoppie cushion, whoever "farts" the cushion first, wins.

Write each of these 7 games on paper and place in un-blown up balloon. Blow up balloon with the paper games inside. Write W-H-O-O-P-I-E on each balloon with a marker. With 7 players, (if more players; have kids pair up and play on teams) give each kid a balloon.

Object of game: 7 rounds: 7 balloons. Each round players will try and pop their balloon. As each balloon is popped the game (inside the balloon) will be read and all players will then play the game. After each game is played a winner will be announced and awarded a prize. Play each round until all the balloons are popped and each game is played. Even if a player does not have a balloon to pop they can participate and play the game. If two balloons are popped at the same time, play both games in the same round.

After all these fun games, your kids should be exhausted and will probably need a little sugar pick me up!! (Yeah right!) But non-the-less, Kitty has a delicious whoppie pie recipe you can make for dessert. They kids are gonna love it!!

Layer on the Love

One thing I have a difficult time throwing or donating away is clothes: warn out, doesn't fit, ruined, doesn't matter, I can't bare to part with it. I always want to re-purpose the fabric. I buy the shirt, skirt or pants, because I loved the fabric and that is why I lament over donating it somewhere else. I think; "That fabric would make the coolest something!" Typically what happens is it sits in my craft room in the corner where I have a huge pile of other clothes waiting to be re-purposed for who knows how long.

Recently we got a new downstairs sectional. It is big and brown and it needs some pillows to spice up the decor. I love new pillows! especially fun, funky, detailed pillows and nothing seems to brighten a room or bed like pillows. Unfortunately really great, fantastic pillows can get pricey. Since I don't have the pillow budget I want, I usually shop and hunt through discount stores like Ross and T.J. Maxx to find something better than your average run of the mill pillow. Last week I went to Ross and found 3 great pillows, plus the two pillows forms (I had at home) I knew I could use my re-purpose fabric. Yah!!

Enter: in my second idea for Valentine's Day: Valentine Maternity Pillow if you are anything like me, you have a (second) big pile of maternity clothes you only wear when your preggers. Alot of my pregnant clothes are either worn out, stained (because I spilled everything right down the front of me) or out of style. So I decided to re-purpose a sweater I worn while pregnant with both of my boys. I love this sweater. I wore it almost everyday, it keep me warn and snugly all through the spring and fall months of my pregnancies. But alas (I haven't been pregnant for 4 1/2 years) I lost the tie for around my waist and it has a lot of stains, a few stains. This sweater was perfect for my pillow idea!

Now I am not a pattern gal, I have owned up to this a few times, and I just wing it, but I am savvy enough in the sewing department that throwing it together usually works for me. If you are a pattern gal look here for pillow patterns or check out this YouTube video on how to make a pillow from old jeans!!

I love how this pillow turned out, especially because it reminds me of when I was pregnant and those are happy Valentine-y thoughts for sure. Any other ideas on how to re-purpose your old pregnant clothes? It seems kinda sad to just throw them all away. Even letting friends borrow the clothes is great, but re-purposing one favorite item seems like a great way to honor the long hard nine months you put into getting your little one here. I would love to read/hear your ideas.

Layer On some more Love over at Kitty's Blog, she is showing us how to layer your favorite sugar cookie into the sweetest valentine treat.

Lady in Red

Valentines just wouldn't be complete without a few lovely post from Kitty and I. We've got a few heart stopping ideas on how to make this Valentine's your best yet. She's got the goods for your tummy and I've got your gifts giving covered.

I love how the trend for fun hair accessories it at an all time cuteness level. It seems like everywhere I go: Mom's, teenagers and little girls have the best eye-catching hair what have you's: headbands, clips, bobbies anything and everything. I thought to myself " What goes with Red Velvet Cupcakes?" Red Velvet Roses, right?? Oh, yes!

Here is my simple, easy tutorial on how to make your own too cute Red Velvet Roses.

Step 1: Take 4 inches of red velvet fabric and fold in half, velvet side up.

Step 2: Gather fabric with a long straight stitch on your machine.

Step 3: Curl your fabric around til rose is your desired size. I did mine about 3-4 turns.

Step 4: Embroider a cute, simple Valentine message on your fabric, with DMC floss. Also with your floss, zig zag through the base of your fabric so it holds the rose's shape.

Step #5: Glue a few felt leaves to the bottom so it covers up the ragged loose ends of velvet.

Step #6: Glue to headband.

Another option: I glued a single rose to a button and then glued that to a clip, if you feel like going solo.

All this talk about velvet sure has gotten me hungry. Head on over to Kitty Blog for some velvet-licious cupcakes. They are divine!!

Third Time is a Charm

Yes, once again I am posting over at Make and Takes. Funny how when it rains it pours. Three posts in three days! Marie is my neighbor and I have been a big fan of her blog long before I even started blogging. Take a look around at all her great ideas after checking out my LOVE BIRD TUTORIAL.

***Up Next is Three Valentine Post by Kitty and I. We can't wait to show you all our Valentine Surprises!!