Pillsbury Crescents "Holiday Entertaining" Party

 A few weeks ago, I had the chance to host a party for Pillsbury.

They sent me a box off goodies...gift card to buy ingredients, coupons for free crescent rolls, a baking pan, a serving spatula, and a cute oven mitt! All they wanted me to do was have a party! So I invited all of the gals in my Sunday school class and had a great time...I made baked brie, piggies in a blanket, layer bars, and bacon cheddar pinwheels. I used jalapeno cheddar mini dogs for the piggies in a blanket instead of the "normal" mini dogs, and they were amazing! The bacon cheddar pinwheels were SO simple and great, too. I gave out recipe cards for the things I made, gave away the coupons for crescent rolls that Pillsbury sent, and some fun prizes. I'd love to do this again, it was great! Pillsbury has a "dough sheet" product now, instead of opening a can of rolls and have them break apart at the perforated edges, I got the dough sheet and just unrolled it in the pan for the bacon cheddar pinwheels and layer bars. SUPER easy. Simple idea but wow, this makes an easy recipe even better!

 

Shutterfly’s 50 free holiday card promotion

I have yet to order Christmas cards from Shutterfly. I have ordered prints, photo coasters (which were really cute) and even two notebooks with pictures of Abbie on them. I made one for me and one for Jonathan. But I’ve never done Christmas cards. I have looked at the holiday ones I received in the mail in the past from friends, & thought “Wow, these are really cute”! 

But this year, Shutterfly is offering 50 free holiday cards to bloggers who post about their products! So here I go….

Probably my favorite thing is the Christmas PHOTO cards. There are so many designs to pick from, and they are all great-Click here for regular Christmas cards to find a design that you love. I love photo cards because we live far away from out family & so they don’t get to see us on a regular basis. It’s a great way to let them see how big Abbie is getting! They start out at .32, and have hundreds of designs to pick from! The hardest part is going to be picking out a design. I’ve already seen tons I love. 

Of course, if a family picture is not something that you want to bother with, you can pick a regular Christmas card, with no attempting to get a picture with everyone looking in the right direction. Click here to see photo Christmas cards.

 

Of course, Shutterfly doesn’t just do cards. They have Calendars   (Click here to see calendars) & canvas wall art and ALL sorts of other gifts, from photo jewelry to mugs to magnets to stickers. 

 Want to get in on this deal?

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… SIGN UP HERE! 

So thanks to Shutterfly for offering this deal to bloggers. I can't wait to make my cards!

wreaths, wreaths and more wreaths.

I have been CRANKIN' out some wreaths lately! They might be coming out of my ears. : ) I'm really learning as I go along and make new designs. I tried the tulle bow on two of the last ones I've done and it's really my favorite. Only downside is that color choices are limited. But at least Hobby Lobby is open again! Whooooo!

I'm about to cut off orders, as I am not going to be a crazy woman this Christmas, running around....
I'm also working on Abbie's halloween costume-I'm really excited about it. She's going to be cookie monster, of course. I used a halloween bucket from a McD's happy meal for her candy pail-turned it into a cookie. So excited about it, even though it's frou frou to the MAX, and I've never considered myself that kind of gal. Maybe I'm going to the dark side....

I'm linking to "Get Your Craft on" at Today's Creative Blog
And also the weekend wrap up party at Tatertots & Jello!





 

beadboard wreaths

It kinda looks like santa's workshop at my house...LOVE IT! I can't wait til Christmas. But I digress-

 How did this start? My friend Eron asked me to make her one...which she posted on Facebook...and it really took off from there. Jonathan cut the rest of the beadboard today, and I got busy sanding away. Already finished a few...but so many more to make! The pics really don't do them justice.

Next, I'm making a Christmas one, and a Georgia Bulldogs one. (Go Dawgs!) Excited to see how they turn out. Can't wait to post pics when I finish.

I'm about ready for it to be fall...that's one thing about Georgia that I don't love. It's been in the 90s. YUCK. I need coffee & sweaters already. It's time. (And Abbie is about to grow out of her summer clothes.) School's in, football is on tv. The weather just needs to catch up so that I can go to Starbucks and get a mocha. Mmmmmm....

I'm so excited to link up to Jen's weekend wrapup party at Tatertots & Jello...AMAZING blog...go see all the beautiful things!!!!Go here: tatertotsandjello

For some reason her cute little badge won't show up when I copy/paste. Oh well. Go visit...be prepared to drool over her cute stuff.


  PS Shameless plug-get on facebook & find me! Joyful Home Designs

a busy last week for JHD

My little business (Joyful Home Designs) is keeping me busy. JHD is on Facebook now, even. So go like me if you want to! : ) 

And I had some orders to fill. So, I made a sign or two.... $35 for the "Est." signs

And $25 for the smaller sign

Sewing machine got busy too.... an infant car seat tent/cover for a sweet baby Molly, coming in Sept. I love making these, I think they will end up being my go-to baby gift. I had someone tell me to monogram "Keep germy hands off" on the blue part! Haha. I thought she might just want to the baby's name, or monogram on it, which is why I made it blue. (The lining is also that same blue.) One mom told me I should hang a sample in the pediatricians' office along with my business card, because people always ask her where she got it. Which makes my heart happy. : )

I made some things last week. Like this easy sign...go here to get yours...in all different colors! : )

I just printed it out and stuck it in a frame I had, on top of some scrapbook paper I already had. Easy. It makes me happy. So that's what I made for myself this week.

I'm linking up to the crafty goodness at Skip To My Lou for Made by you Monday...

 

This took an hour...

I realize that all too soon, I won't be running after her and cleaning up her messes. I spend so much time each day, chasing after her. She is a busybody, a whirlwind of activity and curiosity. The other day I thought...if I don't take pictures of this, one day I will forget how it used to be. And I don't ever want to forget. Because one day in the future, I will have all the time in the world to keep a spotless house. 

We start off pushing the chair all over the kitchen.

And then the destruction begins

Done with those!

Enough fruits & veggies...

Papers!!!!

The stuff under the tv? Boring...

I'll tear out all the tissues in the box, that sounds fun.

Ahhhhhh. The Wii basket is a favorite thing I'm not supposed to get.

But the best might be the cabinets....

CAUGHT!

Uh oh, Momma sees me.

So I use my secret weapon~HOW can she resist this face?

See, I'm so cute! You don't see me messing with dishes...

Is it working? Are you under my spell?

Ok, I'll play in the tupperware cabinet since momma says its okay.

My sweet 1 year old

Abbie turned 1 just about two weeks ago.  I can't even believe it's been a year. She sure has changed our lives for the better. A year ago I had no idea what I was doing-we were in triage mode, just hoping for survival and doubting we'd ever get a normal amount of sleep again. What a DIFFERENCE a year makes. We made it through the horrible projectile reflux issues and back to back to back to back ear infections.

Abbie is such a blessing. It's amazing to see how much she has changed in the past year-how much she's grown, and how much she knows. Just in the past 2 weeks she has learned cookie, no, yes, tickle, wow, and more. She can also say mama, dada, ruff ruff, uh-oh, bye bye....

She was 19 & 1/2 lbs at her 1 yr. appt. She's in the 25% for weight, and 75% for height. So funny. She loves water and dogs. And her appetite is ridiculous. The other day she ate 1 & 1/2 waffles and fruit, and milk for breakfast. She will sign "more" & "all done". She wants to try everything. She would eat fruit and only fruit if we let her. She's a little "plunderer" as my dad says. She goes from place to place, pulling stuff on and making a mess, then moves on to something else. She reminds me of "Stitch" when she does that. She's very curious and independent, and gets frustrated if she can't do something. A few days ago she was squealing in aggravation because she hard her arms stuck, trying to pull her sippy cup thru the slats on the back of the kitchen chair.  She thinks its hilarious when we yawn, and will open her mouth really wide to mimic us. She makes me laugh. She's so hardheaded.

She is a fast crawler. A few times she's stood up and let go of whatever she was holding onto, only to grab on a few seconds later, or sit down very carefully. So, no hurry to walk. I'm okay with that. She definitely goes at her own pace until she decides differently. Been that way since birth. : ) And when she does start to walk, I will have to be that much faster to chase after her whirlwind of chaos and curiosity.

Everyone says that the older you get (or the more kids you have), the faster time goes by. I look back on this year and it already feels like warp speed. I'm trying to hold on to each precious stage, and not wish it away. She's already growing so fast. On the other hand, it's so exciting to see her learn new things. I just want to appreciate every moment. We have been so blessed.