Saturday, September 24, 2011

Signs of Fall sign!



This is similar to the family motto board, but it has autumn papers in the background, and one of my favorite fall quotes on the front. It says "Scarecrows...corn rows...pumpkins on the vine. Leaves curl, winds swirl, Fall is right on time!"

These are super simple to make. Go to Home Depot and find a 1 in x 12 in x 4 ft board. Have them cut it in half so it is 1 in x 12 in x 24 in. Pick out several papers, I used 5-6, and cut them into varying sized strips. Mod podge to board. Using Cricut or whatever vinyl cutter you have, cut out whatever words you'd like, stick to board...viola! Super cute as gifts, or to decorate your own home.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Family motto


I love the idea of having a family motto. If found a quote I really liked, tweaked it a bit, and put it together on this board. It's pretty cute, and I love the colors. It says "This is our home. In our home, we laugh out loud, have dance breaks, talk openly, make mistakes, love completely, forgive quickly, sing off key, encourage, worry less about clean and more about fun. Four walls don't make a home, four people do." Isn't that sweet. This was a combination of these two pins.
http://pinterest.com/pin/211640694/ and http://pinterest.com/pin/93214553/

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Friday, September 16, 2011

Visiting Teaching Conference Idea by me


(Wizard of Oz clipart was purchased at www.kelleyskidsprintables.com)
Tonight was our ward's annual visiting teaching conference. We do one annually just to reiterate the importance of visiting teaching. For ours tonight we did not tell anyone the theme. We made very simple black and white invites. We decorated the cultural hall with black and white table cloths, black plates and flatware, the centerpieces were just branches from crab apple trees with the apples attached in mason jars. I made a TON of flag banners out of paint color samples (they're free!!) in black, white, and gray. We had a lovely dinner, and then everyone went into the RS room for speakers. We had our Stake RS president speak on how VT require courage. We had our VT coordinator speak on using your heart to VT, and our ward RS president spoke on using your brain to be a good visiting teacher. While the sisters were in the RS room, my meeting coordinator and I changed all of the table clothes to different colored ones, we also changed out all the banners for rainbow ones (also made with paint color samples,) and stuck rainbow pinwheels that I'd made from clothes pins and paper on all of the branches. We used yellow butcher paper and made a "yellow brick road" from the RS room to the cultural hall. We had dessert out on the food table (fruit kabobs because they were easy to tie into the rainbow theme) and a chocolate fountain. We then did a little skit (see below) with "Dorothy" (a sister wearing a blue and white checkered apron over a white tshirt and jeans, with red high heels,) "Glinda/Sister North" wearing a pink fluffy robe, with pink curlers in her hair, and a green face cream all over, she waved a (BRAND NEW) toilet brush around as a wand, and "Munchkins" Several sisters wearing aprons. The song was to the tune of "Come out come out wherever you are" from Wizard of Oz, and the lyrics were written by me. As everyone left, they got a handout (see picture above) also designed by me, and a package of skittles (taste the rainbow!) On the handout, the lines in color were actual movie quotes. It was super fun, the speakers did an amazing job of bringing in the spirit, and several people remarked how it was the best RS activity ever. =)

Skit/Song (by Dede Bessey)
Glinda and munchkins are behind curtain.

Dorothy approaches opening pretends to ring bell and says “Ding dong. Ding dong. DING DONG! Sister North, are you in there?? Sister North!"

Glinda (behind curtain) “Who is it?”

Dorothy “Sister North, it’s Sister Gale.”

Glinda (comes through “door”) “Yes, dear, what can I do for you?”

Dorothy “I need to report that I’ve finished my Visiting Teaching Sister North.”

Glinda “You’ve...what? It’s only the 16th!”

Dorothy “Oh, Sister North, I just love teaching. I have finished my route.”

Glinda begins song. On “Oh sisters come out,” Munchkins come out from behind curtain.
Glinda
Come out, come out, oh sisters come out, and meet the young lady who’s finished her route.
She finished her route, she got in and out, and teaching, she says, was what it’s about.

Munchkins
Teaching, she says, was what it’s about.

Glinda
She brings you good news, or haven’t you heard?
Finishing her route, a miracle’s occurred.

Dorothy
It really was no miracle, what happened was just this...
The phone began to ring, my heart began to sing, I was thinking of the sisters that I’d soon be visiting.
The joy I’d bring, just by my visiting, teaching a short lesson, and administ’ring.

Munchkins
Oh, it was a beautiful thing
The phone began to ring, her heart began to sing, she’s reported to her supervisor that she’s done her visiting...
Who hopes that she can make it a monthly thing.
The phone began to ring, her heart began to sing, she’s reported to her supervisor that she’s done her visiting.
The joy that you can bring, by just accomplishing your visiting!

Munchkin #1
We praise you very thickly, for doing it so quickly.

Munchkin #2
You completed it so slickly, that we praise you very thickly.

Glinda
Now her praises we’ll all sing, She has completed her visit teaching!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Remember

Photos by me
My 4 year old son touching a piece of the World Trade Center that was brought to our town today. I love how reverent he looks. He told me he "remembers" 9-11 (it was 6 years before he was born) and how Jesus "floated" the heroes who died up to Heaven.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Upcoming birthday board


For crafty Tuesday, my sweet friend and I made cute birthday boards. You put little tags to show the next upcoming birthday, you can either store them all on the board or just one at a time. I think this one turned out quite cute. I put "celebrate" instead of "happy birthday" because I am going to make tags for Christmas and other holidays also. I found the idea here http://pinterest.com/pin/23903126/

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Gluten free desserts



I am obsessed with GF desserts recently. I want to find things that are just as good as "regular" desserts, and easy to make. I made this fruit pizza using a GF sugar cookie recipe I found here. Then I topped with creme cheese frosting (I am also obsessed with cream cheese frosting...) and cut up fruit. Easy Peasy. Beautiful and delicious. But my ultimate favorite are my teeny flourless chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (...toldja.) I have been mixing different frostings. These are nutella banana and cinnamon. Yum. Here is my fool proof flourless chocolate cake recipe. I made it up, and it makes super yummy, rich, amazing little cupcakes. A perfect vehicle for cream cheese frosting.

Dede's Flourless chocolate cupcakes
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 stick butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I love Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate)

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl covered in plastic wrap. Be careful to not burn! In my microwave it takes 90 seconds. Stir to mix completely. Add sugar, mix completely. Add eggs, mix completely. Add cocoa (sifting works best, but if you don't have a sifter, just dump it in there.) Stir just until mixed. Spray mini muffin pan with Pam. Spoon mix into mini muffin pan (makes 24.) Bake until crust forms and slightly cracks. In my oven, this takes about 20 minutes. Pull out muffin pan and set on cooling rack for 5-10 minutes. Use the back of a spoon, a tart maker, or the bottom of a fruit/herb muddler to push indents into top of cupcakes. (To fill with frosting.) Use a knife to loosen and pull muffins out. Leave muffins on cooling rack. When completely cool, use decorator or frosting bag to fill indent with frosting.

Frosting recipe
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
3-5 tablespoons powdered sugar
flavoring of your choice; in the past I have used 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 overripe banana and 1/4 cup nutella, cinnamon oil and red hots, 1/2 cup coconut/pecan frosting, vanilla bean, fresh crushed strawberries.....the possibilities are endless!!!

See the pin here http://pinterest.com/pin/165548721/ Follow me on Pinterest!