Bands For Arms

As a military wife I was completely taken away by this company.  Very simple concept with a huge impact.  They take old retired or active duty uniform donations and turn them into bracelets.   Bands For Arms will donate a portion of the sale price to support The USO Japan, The National World War II Museum, Project Lifting Spirits, and The Marine Toys For Tots Foundation. Bands For Arms goal is to bring awareness to our American military by bracelets made from actual service members' and veterans' uniforms, building a display of communication and support to patrons who wear a Bands For Arms bracelet. Communication with Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guard, Marines, or Soldiers with their loved ones back home is the primary goal and mission of Bands For Arms.

This is a limited edition Quinn bracelet from the 2011 collection.  How adorable!

The "military wife" bracelet

There are TONS of different designs!  What an amazing (and cute) bracelet to wear!  If you would like to donate uniforms you can mail them to:

Bands For Arms

C/O Mrs. Katrina Suffel

4007 East Donna Ave.

Orange, CA 92869

You can purchase your bracelets through their ebay store or directly from their website!  Can you think of a better Valentines present for someone?  I can't!!  You can follow them on Facebook.  Once they reach 8,000 followers they are releasing a new bracelet!  They are SOOO close!  Help them get there by passing this info on to your friends and family!

Hurry to get this deal!

Not sure how long it will last but there is an Amazon $20 giftcard available today only for $10!!  I just swiped mine up and there were already over 200,000 purchased!  (6:30AM PST).  It is on Living Social which is a site a lot like Groupon with a daily deal.  Click here to get your giftcard now!!

Knitting the Day Away

Today was an AMAZING time!  We met my mom down at Balboa Park and got to hang out with them for a few hours and then walk around down there.  The parks are gorgeous!

Anyway I wanted to share some of my creations here lately.  I am really in to knitting hats/beanies.  I knitted the Eggplant or Grape hat awhile back and now I'm really getting into it!  Today I finished a strawberry hat!

This pretty one which I LOVE :)  Turned out to be my fave!

I am having a little insomnia right now (2:30 AM) so MY monkey wasn't awake to take pictures...plus I think these hats might be too small for her head as these are meant to fit an infant.

I am trying to put these beanies on Etsy.  Does anyone know why it says my images are too big?  Any help would be great!!  Thanks!

Gift for a friend

I made a gift for my really good friend for Christmas and only now can I post it since I didn't get to give it to her until this week!

This was a plaque that I got at Dollar Tree and spray painted over with primer and then black spray paint.  

I printed out the words and got some nice scrapbook paper from my box full of pretty paper and set out to work.

The first try was a total bust.  For some reason the paper got too wet from the Mod Podge so I had to scrape it off and start over. :( First try fail.

So here is the finished product.  I ended up liking this scrapbook paper choice better than the one before anyhow!  I used cardstock which is thicker and then it didn't rip once I used the Mod Podge on it.

So the message says:

BE STRONG IN THE LORD

NEVER GIVE UP HOPE

YOU'RE GONNA DO GREAT THINGS

I ALREADY KNOW!

GOD'S GOT HIS HAND ON YOU

SO DON'T LIVE IN FEAR

FORGIVE AND FORGET

BUT DON'T FORGET WHY YOU'RE HERE

TAKE YOUR TIME AND PRAY

Hope you like it Erin! :)

Muddy Buddies

So I was scrolling across Remodelaholic's website and she has a recipe posted there which made me think...hmm..yep got the ingredients...got a sweet tooth...let's do it!  So I did. :)

Muddy Buddies
9 cups Wheat Chex (at least this way you get some fiber...)
1 cup   Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup   Peanut Butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Powdered sugar

1. Measure Cereal and place in a large bowl, set aside.

Heart attack?  Nahhh...we've got protein and dairy and chocolate (a food group of it's own of course!)

It's GOOD for you...

2. In a microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag

Don't you love my Tupperware?  No.  Seriously...I do!  My mother-in-law got these for monkey to play with!  Mommy plays with them more though!  Who doesn't love princesses?!

3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

YUM!!  Only took about 15 minutes.  ENJOY!

Faux Metal Wall Art

So I just ran across this tutorial and I fell in love!  Once I finally get unpacked and settled in our new house I have the perfect spot for something like this!! :)  SO ADORABLE!!  Check out Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom for the details on how to make your own!

Start with TP rolls

Cut and design them

Spray with spray paint

Hang on walls!  How easy is that!!

Let me know if you make any!  I would love to see how they turn out!!

Crockpot Refried Beans

I have been reading online about people trying to make their own refried beans and thought since we are working on saving money and budgeting I would try it since buying dry beans is a lot less expensive than the canned counterpart.  The verdict-WE LOVE THEM!!!  I got the bags of dried beans 2lbs for $1.97 and a couple onions for $0.50 (ish).  So for a total of about $2.50 I was able to make over 2 lbs of refried beans!!  Ok, so here is all it takes.  I found this recipe at Dinner's Ready:

6 cups of dry pinto beans (rinsed)(or 2lb)

2 onions, peeled & halved

9 cups of water

10 t salt (for reduced sodium use 5 t salt which is what I did)

2 1/2 t pepper

4 T minced garlic

1/4 t ground cumin

Put all the ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for about 8 hours. After they are done, drain all of the liquid out and SAVE THE LIQUID!! Mash beans with a potato masher or whatever you mash with. Add liquid, a bit at a time, to desired consistency, but remember you want them a little runny because they thicken over time. 

Here is what mine looks like! :)?

This was my lunch today with leftover guacamole from the avocados I found on sale at Walmart this week :)...do you love the pink paper plate china? ha

Cinnamon Scones for breakfast

I made these for breakfast this morning!  DELICIOUS!!  We are still in Sacramento visiting family so I had to navigate around my step-mother's kitchen.  But she was gracious enough to let me :-) Thank you Stacie! :)  Here is the link to Money Saving Mom where I got the recipe and idea.  I made one small alteration by using pumpkin pie spice in the glaze.  It was amazing!!  

Scone Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg, separated
3 Tablespoons honey
1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/3 cup milk mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice)

Crumb Topping (can be adjusted to your liking):

1-2 Tablespoons turbinado (or sugar)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients (can be adjusted to your liking):

1 cup powdered sugar
1-3 teaspoons milk (enough to make a glaze)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (instead of vanilla I used pumpkin pie spice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.

Separate the egg white and yolk. Set the egg white aside.

In a separate bowl, mix egg yolk, honey and buttermilk (or milk/lemon juice mixture). Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Form dough into a ball on a floured surface. Roll or pat out to half an inch in thickness and eight inches in diameter. Cut into eight equally-sized pieces.

Transfer to a greased baking sheet. Whisk the egg white until froth forms and brush over the tops of scones. Mix turbinado and cinnamon together and sprinkle over egg-white-topped scones.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until glaze forms. Drizzle over scones after they bake.

Monkey thought they were cookies :)

But she sure loved them!

I'd love to hear what great recipes you all have been making lately!

New Years Day 2011

How was your New Years this year?  What did you do?  We had a fantastic New Years Day with my parents, Hubby and Monkey and my dad's hunting dogs up in the snow.  

She totally reminds me of Christmas story here LOL. So cute!

It was completely a winter wonderland!!

Sledding with the dogs!  They liked to stand right in the way.  :-P  Happy New Years everyone!!

Knitted Grape Hat

This was a quick project that took me about 2 hours.  I just loved how cute it was to have my little grape head running around the house :-)  I knitted it in the round with Red Heart soft purple 100% acrylic yarn.  The green was misc. yarn my grandma gave me.

The link for the instructions for the hat are HERE although I'll say mine did not turn out like the picture.  Not sure what I did differently but I like mine just as much.  

I've been making a few other hats for a friend of mine that is due in March but my little Monkey's noggin is too big for the little one I made them for.  ;-)  I would love it to hear what you guys are up to?