The shenanigans of Dinkle Sneakytoes

Meet Dinkle Sneakytoes, our very own scout elf. He has been getting into some mischief lately. It seems that the naughtier the kids are during the day, the naughtier Dinkle is at night. Here are some of his shenanigans.

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DIY Dollar Store Halloween village!

I saw this pin and I KNEW that I would be making my very own Halloween village. I bought several Christmas village houses and people at the dollar store, spray painted them black, then added some orange glow in the dark paint accents, and some black glitter accents. Decorate with orange lights and spiderwebs, and voila! I love how it is so eerily dark . The people are creepy looking anyway, so making them black just added to that. I will probably add to it as time goes by, but I LOVE it!! Follow me on Pinterest!

Drawer Labels

If your children (and husband) are anything like mine, they can't seem to remember which drawer to put their clothes into. So, I created these labels. I laminated them and attached them to the drawers, and it works like a charm. Even when it doesn't work, they can't claim it's because the didn't know where the items belonged! Enjoy! Follow me on Pinterest!

Summertime girl

Love my summertime girl!

First day of school photos

So proud of my big boy! Kindergarten rocks!

First day of school teacher gift- a "Just in case" kit

A Luna bar in case she misses breakfast, Easy Mac in case she misses lunch, peanut butter M&M’s in case she needs a snack, Crystal Light energy drink packets in case she feels run down, Tylenol in case she gets a headache, Carmex in case her lips feel chapped, lotion in case she needs moisturized, Tums in case her tummy hurts, throat drops in case she has a tickle, a sewing kit in case she pops a button off, gum in case she has dry mouth, knee highs in case she gets a run, bobby pins in case her hair is out of control, a lint brush in case she gets stray hairs on her clothes, and Always liners in case...you know. What do you think about teacher's gifts for first day of school, Christmas, etc? I like to do them, but a friend of mine was insulted that she felt they were assumed. Thoughts?

Snow YAY! But....

I live in an area of Washington that actually gets less rain per year than Los Angeles. We have a ton of gray overcast days, but as far as actual rain it's minimal. We also tend to get very little snow in the winter. This is funny because it is so typical of people in this area.

Nutella banana trifle

If you are supposed to bring a dessert somewhere and want to impress the pants off everyone, try making a trifle! The traditional way is to layer custard, preserves, cake, fruit, etc. Usually it's pound cake with vanilla custard, strawberry preserves, maybe some banana. But, you can use whatever you like! My favorite favorite flavor combo in the world is Nutella banana.... so here is a recipe for that. If you have the time, I recommend making your own custard, whipping your own cream, etc. BUT, this is going to be the quick and dirty way and it tastes wonderful! Ingredients: One chocolate cake mix, prepared according to directions 2 boxes vanilla instant pudding, 2 cups milk 2 boxes banana instant pudding, 2 cups milk 1 large container of cool whip, divided 2 cups Nutella 4 ripe bananas, sliced Bake cake, and allow to cool completely. Cut into bite sized pieces. Over a double boiler, melt Nutella. Prepare banana pudding according to directions, and place in fridge. Prepare vanilla pudding according to directions. After it has been stirred for 2 minutes, temper in half of the melted Nutella, while whisking the ENTIRE time. I can not stress this enough. You have to temper (add it in slowly) and stir or else it will seize and make a gross unusable mess. After it is all mixed in, you should have Nutella pudding. Place into fridge. Now, temper the other half of the melted Nutella into half of the cool whip. Again, slow and steady WHILE whisking. Place into fridge. After the pudding is soft set (about 5-10 minutes) you can assemble the trifle. Just start layering, I do cake pieces, banana pudding, bananas, Nutella pudding, cake, plain cool whip, Nutella pudding, cake, banana pudding, bananas, Nutella cool whip, then cake crumbs, but really the order doesn't matter. I try to make sure the slices of bananas are between two pudding layers to keep them from browning. After it is assembled, place into fridge, and keep it there until serving. This will help the pudding to finish setting. I baked the cake and mixed the puddings in the morning, and then assembled it all 10 minutes before dinner. It stayed in the fridge during dinner, and when I brought it out after everyone ooooohed and aaaaaahed. Enjoy! Eat what you want the first time, because there will not be leftovers!

Ready for a change....

So the Romneys are selfish for keeping a horse? And employing a groom with a family to support. And paying for feed that’s sold by someone with a family to support and transported in trucks by someone with a family to support and manufactured in a factory by people with families to support from stuff that’s grown by farmers with families to support. And having a barn built by construction workers with families to support with materials trucked by drivers with families to support from factories with workers with families to support. Sounds to me like that one horse has done more to put Americans to work than that horse’s ass in the White House. I'm not saying Mitt Romney is the perfect candidate. I do think he is better than the other options. I created this on Obamiconme.com because it amused me. Please feel free to comment, even if you disagree, but any Mormon bashing or other comments I find inappropriate will be deleted. Follow me on Pinterest!

Vegan curried butternut squash soup

I do Bountiful Baskets so frequently I get to make up or modify recipes based on what produce I have on hand. I have made butternut squash soup before, but with how I tweaked it this time, it turned out SO good. The problem is, sometimes I forget what I did to make it different, so this time I'm posting and pinning it so I can find it again. This is my own recipe, and while it may not have started out 100% original, I feel I've tweaked it enough to still call it 'mine.' Enjoy! Ingredients: *1 Yellow Onion *1 Butternut Squash *2 Apples (I use granny smith) *4 Carrots *1 can Coconut Milk *1 tbsp of Curry Powder *1 tbsp of Cinnamon *1 tbsp of Ground Cloves *1 tbsp of Red Pepper flakes *Raw Ginger, to taste *1 to 2 tbsp Olive Oil *Apple juice, as needed Directions: (You will need a masher or an immersion/hand blender) Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Place in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Once the squash has softened, cut into two inch chunks. You can remove the skin if you choose to, however it is edible. (I leave it on.) Place into crock pot. Peel the carrots and ginger and quarter the apples. Place into crock pot with enough juice to just cover vegetables. Add spices, raw ginger, and coconut milk to crock pot. Dice the onion and saute it with the curry powder in olive oil until translucent. Deglaze pan with a few tbsps of water/stock/juice. Add it all to the crock pot. Just before serving, use a hand masher or immersion blender to puree the vegetables. I like to serve it topped with vegan sour cream and chopped cilantro. You can adjust the spices/ginger to make it more/less spicy, based on your preference. Follow me on Pinterest!

Baptism gift

My friend's son was baptized recently and since this is the time of year to get sparklers, I made this cute little gift. The tag says "Thanks for being such a 'sparkling' example of 'chewsing' the right!" I thought it was pretty cute! Follow me on Pinterest!

Flip flop wreath

I have seen several flip flop wreaths on Pinterest lately. This is my take on it!

**Tip** Instead of using a wreath form that can cost $4.99 or more, I used a piece of foam pipe insulation from Home Depot. It cost $0.97, and it is 6 feet long so you can cut it in half and make 2 wreaths! I secure the ends with duct tape, and voila! Follow me on Pinterest!

Where have I been?

I am wondering why I have not posted in so long. I have been making projects, just been too busy to show ya =) Here is the one I made today.

It looks complicated, but I promise it isn't. I {of course} forgot to take pictures as I went, but here are the super simple directions. 1. Buy 1 large (9-12 inch) terra cotta pot and 6-7 smaller (6 inch) terra cotta pots, soil, flowers, and 1 4-6 ft piece of rebar. 2. Paint them your desired color(s). (Though leaving them plain would be fine too!) 3. If you used acrylic paint, I recommend sealing them with clear spray paint, diamond coat, or brushing with mod podge. 4. When the paint is COMPLETELY dry, ( I recommend overnight) start by pushing the rebar into the ground. I recommend buying the 6 foot piece and sinking it about two feet, but if you can only find 4 foot, that works too. I had 4 foot so it's only in the ground about 6 inches. 5. Slide the largest pot onto the rebar through the drain hole. This will be your base. Fill it with soil and plants. 6. Slide the next pot (a smaller one) onto the rebar through the drain hole. This one you will rest at an angle in the soil of the bottom pot and against the lip. Fill with soil and plants. 7. Slide the next pot on, the angles are achieved by using the rebar to "hold" through the hole and using the pot below to balance. Add soil and flowers as you go, it's much easier than trying to add them at the end. 8. The top pot should just fit onto the rebar, with the top being about 2 inches below the lip of the pot. It's easy peasy! See this and all my other projects and follow me on Pinterest! I found the original pin here. http://pinterest.com/pin/285204588872656160/

Crave Photography's World Wide Giveaway

Have you seen the AMAZING world wide giveaway at Crave Photography??? Check it out here Here's what you could win....

A.frickin.mazing. Go enter... and Good luck... but not too much because I want to win!

Joy School Story

Today was my turn to teach Joy School. We learned about creativity and imagination. Each child drew a picture, without consulting the others, and then we put the pictures together and the kids (ages 3,4,5) told me the story. I thought it turned out super cute. So, I present to you "The man, the monster, the treasure, and the beach" By Our Joy School Class

"Once upon a time, there was a sad man. Then, he found a treasure chest and was very happy. When he came home, he found out his house was on fire! So he left his house, and followed the path back to the treasure chest. But, instead of treasure, he saw a monster! Then man told the monster "be nice, I love you!" Then, he moved ot the beach and lived happily ever after in the sunshine! " THE END

Today I made...

I'll probably end up making more princesses later, but for now, for this trip, I am done! Finished up the dresses today. Hopefully you can tell, but they are Cinderella, Snow White, Tinkerbell, Ariel, and Rapunzel. My lil' princess will be stylin' at Disneyland!!

Today I made...

Jedi Robes. We are going to Disneyland soon and I have been sewing lots of princess dresses for my daughter. My son felt left out, so this is what I came up with. I used twin sized sheets, because you get a lot more fabric for cheaper than buying it by the yard. I didn't use a pattern or anything, I just kind of MacGyver'ed it. This pin was the closest how to I could find to what I did in case you are wanting to make them.

I also made these amazing breakfast cookies. I made two batches. One, as directed with peanut butter. The other... with Nutella instead of pb. The pb ones were good. The Nutella ones were A.FRICKIN.MAZING. AND they are GF!! Heavens opened. Angels sang. I had a little mini moment there. Try it. Super yummy. You can see my daughter's hand trying to steal another from the counter. She has good taste, that one. I always knew she was my favorite. =)

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Today I made...

...A "Rapunzel" inspired dress from a tshirt, fabric, ribbon, and lace.

AND...

...a leprechaun trap. Looks like he got away this time... he had to leave some treasure though!

Lovin' the rosettes...

Today I made some rosettes. I am ob.friggen.sessed with rosettes right now. I just googled "how to make fabric rosettes" and watched tutorials on youtube until I found one I liked. This trio can be worn as a brooch or in the hair. This is the tutorial I liked the best.



Super cute!!

Shake your shamrocks!

My little girl's bday is St. Patrick's day, so I made her this dress. It was not as hard as I thought it would be, and it turned out super cute!! I have been thinking about selling them on Etsy or the Boutiki. What do you think?

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Aloha Subway Art

I created this invite to a goodbye party/luau I am throwing for my bestie who is moving far far away. :( At least her party invite is super cute!

Quick and cute t-shirt scarf

This scarf took me about 1 hour start to finish. It cost me $3.00, though yours could be free if you have old t-shirts on hand. And, the best part is that it was SUPER easy. All you need is t-shirts and scissors. Really. My local Wally world had plain t-shirts on sale for $1.00, so I bought them, but if you have some plain t-shirts you wouldn't mind cutting up (maybe if they have some stains) then use those. First, cut off the bottom hems. Save them, you will use them later. Then cut the shirts into 3/4 inch to 1 inch strips. Don't cut the seams, you want loops. You will want about 30-35 total. I had three colors, so I cut 11 strips of each for 33. The exact number isn't that important. More loops makes the scarf longer, less shorter. Take each loop, and pinching the two seams, stretch it as far as it goes easily. Then take the stretched loop and wind it around your hand. It should go around 3-4 times easily. Once you have several piles of loops, cut the hems you have set aside into 3-4 inch strips. Use those strips to tie the loops together. CUTE! If you need a pictorial step by step how to, check out Kevin & Amanda here. (I totally copied it from her!)

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Snickers salad

Admittedly, this salad may not look like much. I made it because I had the ingredients (yes, I had 5 Snickers bars at my house. Don't judge me.) and I needed a quick dessert for company. I thought it would probably be good, but wasn't expecting much more than than. But, HOLY HANNAH MONTANA! It was not merely "good." It was A.Frickin.Mazing. It should be called crack in a bowl. Well, ok maybe it shouldn't be. Can you imagine "Here kids, it's dessert time. Eat your crack in a bowl." But you get the idea. It was super simple to make. Now the only hard part will be making it and not sticking my face in it and eating it all and licking the bowl. Make this. Make this now. You're welcome.

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 package whipped topping, thawed
5-6 Snickers bars, chopped in pieces. I prefer teeny pieces, so that you get some in every bite. You do what feels right to you.
4 Granny smith apples, chopped. Again, smaller pieces are the way to my heart, but chop 'em how you like 'em.

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in whipped topping. Stir in Snickers and apples. Refrigerate about an hour, serve. This should not be done the night before, as the liquid in the apples will make it runny and gross if left too long. That means that if there are any leftovers (which, frankly I'd be shocked) then you must eat them. Again, you're welcome.

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Valentine's cone wreath

My crafty friend and I are back at it! We like to get together once a month at least, preferably once a week. This time we made this super cute (and easy!) paper cone wreath for Valentine's day. I love the red/pink/grey/black colors, and I personalized mine with a picture of my family on our "forever anniversary." (The anniversary of the day we were sealed for time and all eternity in the Seattle LDS temple. For more information on what that means, visit Mormon.org )

The original pin can be found here. As you can see, I tweaked mine a bit from the original idea, and I think it turned out so much cuter!

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Gluten free homemade Baked Potato Soup

I love baked potato soup, but it can be difficult to find a mix that is gluten free. So I decided to make it myself from scratch, and it was SO good. There is no flour, glutenous or otherwise, used to thicken, and the fresh ingredients make it is so yummy!

Recipe by Dede Bessey
Ingredients:
5-6 medium potatoes, washed (not peeled) and cubed
5 large carrots, peeled, chopped into disks
1 whole celery stalk, chopped, including greens
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 lb bacon, cut into "lardons"
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp minced garlic
5 cups water
6 cubes chicken bouillon
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 cans evaporated milk
2-4 Tbsp Kirkland signature no salt seasoning
1/2 - 1 cup potato pearls
Shredded cheddar, sour cream, green onions to garnish

Boil water, add chopped potato, carrots, and celery. Let simmer until veggies are tender.
In the mean time, add bacon, onion, and butter to a saute pan. Saute until bacon is cooked, onions are tender. Then add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Add all of above ingredients to crockpot or large sauce pan. (Including the water the veggies were cooked in, the starch is important!)Add bouillon and no salt seasoning. Simmer, covered, on medium-low heat (or crock pot on high) for about an hour, stirring occasionally. About 30 minutes before serving time, add milk, cream, and evaporated milk. Stir in completely. Just before serving, add your potato pearls and re-cover. The potato pearls are used to thicken the soup, add as little or as much as you'd like, my measurements are just estimated. (This is also true for the no salt seasoning, add however much tastes good to you.) Once potato pearls are absorbed, stir well. Serve garnished with cheese, sour cream, green onions.

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