Supplies and ideas for the quiet book!!!!

Ok as I promised I would get you a list of things you need to start this with me. Now would be a great time to break out those coupons, and look through your closets, dollar stores , and clearance racks. Trust me it will help you save money, and get many ideas.

Now first you need felt, felt , and more felt, I mean felt, All colors designs, and thickness. Now what I do is I went to my dollar store, and Joanns and I thought about the ages of the kids I am making these for. I am making 3 or 4 , the twins are almost 1 , Emma is 5, and johnathan is 3. Emmas is one I am not making till March.

So I sat down and thought of a good order to do the twins books in first , and this is what I decided on , I am making a 12 activity page book. I am also trying to decide rather to do a soft cover or hard, Leaning toward just a felt cover. So On page one I am going to do a SO PRETTY PAGE, ( I will do a tutorial as I do them, but want to give you all a idea, and shopping list, so you can start finding your deals. So here is my layout, PAGE ONE SO PRETTY, with a circular mirror, ( they sale the soft bendable non breakable mirrors on the mirror isle at Joanns for under 3 , I will add a pocket out of vinyl, and add a comb, . PAGE TWO I am doing her name, in felt letters, but I am doing the entire alphabet so as she gets older she can spell different words. But on Christmas it will just spell her name, again a vinyl pocket for the extra letters, I am going to rotate colors, to spice it up a bit, PAGE THREE is going to be a dress up page, I am doing a potato head of sorts with yarn hair, but no pocket on this page, because on PAGE FOUR is going to be a closet out of felt, with a mirror inside with the felt doors, and a pocket for the clothes. PAGE FIVE is going to be shapes for matching, with a pocket for the shapes. Page SIX is going to be a button page with flowers to help with fine motor skills, and a pocket for the flowers, ( I am going to make extra colors so they have a variety. PAGE SEVEN is going to be a buckle my shoe page, they sale these with the little sewing notions for a few dollars (BUT I AM A BARGAIN GIRL, If you have a old purse, backpack fanny pack anything you will not use break out your scissors girls and use it:) ) PAGE EIGHT is going to be a peekaboo page, I am going to do a lady bug, with a mirror in it under the wings, I am also going to make the dots Velcro on and off for more fun. PAGE 9 Is going to be numbers, there are a few ideas I was tossing around for this, but I am going with the giraffe and his spots, with numbers 0-9, and a pocket, (FOR THE OLDER KIDS I AM LEAVING A SPOT AT THE BOTTOM FOR ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION) for PAGE TEN I am doing a purse, with fake make up, and bracelets that are Velcro on, with a small mirror on the purse flap. I will of course embelish all pages with ric rack and ribbons, bows, buttons, snaps, ect,. PAGE ELEVEN is going to be a cooking page, with detachable hot pad, small mirror for stove window, and PAge 12 is my ALL DONE PAGE !! with the pans. and plates.

I know this is a long post but ideas are needed for both boys and girls, so I am doing one for my nephew but he will dress a dinosuar, and have robots, to play with , a teepee for his peekaboo page istead of cooking I am thinking he will have a fishing game, he will have a fake shaver for his HANDSOME page, no flowers but a baseball mitt, a football to lace instead of shoes. a ice cream to build instead of cooking, or a sundae, hamburger, sandwich, ect. possibly a build a robot page. You can do puzzles, I think for the younger kids I would do the BIG pieces, I have some of them laying around

I hope this is helping you all So here is a simple shopping list and how I got some of my PATTERNS!!

1 Felt, tons, about a yard for just the pages, I got pinks for the girls,

colored felts all colors, ( my dollar store gets them in sometimes a 10 pack, ) but you can buy it on the bulk or just by pieces, depending on the size of your book.

2 embellishments, Buttons, Velcro, snaps, eyelets, (THESE ARE A LITTLE TO PRICY FOR MY BLOOD AT WAL MART! BUT MY LOCAL SCRAP BOOK STORE SALES THEM FOR .10 CENTS A PIECE IN ALL COLORS AND SHAPES) a eyelet tool, (THIS IS NOT A MUST HAVE, THEY ARE PRICEY SO WATCH FOR A GREAT SALE OR CLEARANCE I GOT MINE FOR 12.50 at WAL MART ON CLEARANCE!) ric rack, ribbons,

3 batting if you want thick pages

4 scissors can use pinking wave as well

5 Thread

6 Zipper

7 Yarn, and shoe lace if you do the lacing instead of buckle, or just a buckle

8 and my secret lifesaver color pages, books, ect This is where I get my patterns as well as from appliqué I have laying around. I AM NOT A ARTIST, I have some real cute desert patterns that came with a appliqué kit I bought, I can try and scan some that I have done with there inspiration as well as any other patterns you may want,

Now the fun part is you know your child what they like don't like, ect, one twin does not have a favorite the other is a mickey mouse fan, so will get to dress mickey, so if your kid does not cook, maybe they like to color and draw? then add a color page, easy with a pocket, crayons, and pad of paper, maybe they are having trouble with letters, do a alphabet book, a is for apple, art, ect. make it fun with Velcro pic, and then they have to sound out the pic to find where it fits, or numbers add subtract, use animals, candy, and that. I am doing a under the sea one as well nephew loves animals, so use your kids likes to your advantage, maybe your child will like theres with robots, or cars, animals, the possibilities are endless here,.

So now till I get the pic up for page one figure out your theme, and look around your place, DI, dollar store and that to find what you want, sit down with a pencil and paper and jot it down, then you will know what you need, if you have questions want different ideas and patterns let me know I will be more then happy to help you..... Hope you are all still reading, :)

A question for you all

I am doing quiet books for my nieces and nephews for Christmas, I have tons of ideas for the pages and that, I was wondering if anyone would want a tutorial? I do not mind doing one but it would be a 2 part one, If you are interested let me know, For those of you that do not know what a quiet book is it is a soft book for small kids, ( you can make them for any age) they teach little ones small motor skills, buttons, zippers, snaps, buckles, ect, can make it a story about them, alphabet, numbers, animals, anything, these are great for cars, shopping, church, ect. the possibilities for the embellishing of these are endless, you can make them jingle, crinkle, ect, I have twin nieces that will be a yr old then, a 5 yr old niece and 3 yr old nephew, as well as a new one due in dec Thanks for the input

Bleeding Candles

take a red taper candle and spray paint it black. when you light it and it burns, the wax drips red and looks like it's bleeding. very halloweenish!!

Witchs Broom Treat Bag

here's a fun, easy and cheap craft tutorial! i call it witchs broom treat bag. i saw it on martha stewart.com. but it had no pictures to go along with the directions. so i thought i'd show how i made mine.

first are the supplies...

to make one bag you'll need:

1 twig

2 brown paper lunch bags

scissors

twine

take bag 1, and cut strips down to the base of the bag.

take bag 2, and cut stripes just on the top.

place bag 2 on bag 1. fill your bag with whatever goodies you want. gather the strips of bag 1, over bag 2, stick twig in the center, wrap and tie with twine.
and there ya have it!

Happy Halloween!

Barbecue Chicken Quesadillas

This recipe is from "Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone" and it seriously is the yummiest easiest recipe. I did have pictures of this HOWEVER my laptop had crashed and my hard drive was replace....equalling no pictures. Hope you enjoy these!

Four 10-inch flour tortillas

2 cups coarsely shredded roasted chicken

2 cups grated monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

salt

1/4 cup barbeque sauce

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Arrange tortillas on a work surface. Divide chicken, cheese, cilantro, and jalapeno among the tortillas, scattering the ingredients over half of each tortilla. Sprinkle with salt (i didn't actually do this when I made them) and drizzle a tbsp of bbq sauce over each. Fold the uncovered half of each tortilla over the filling to form a half-moon shape.

Heat a large flad griddle pan over medium heat. Place 2 quesadillas on the griddle. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Cute quessadillas into wedges and serve.

Now I didn't use the BBQ sauce recipe in his cookbook because I was short on time and ingredients but these turned out great with the store bought sauce I used. These are a great movie snack or dinner.

Sonja

Thrifty Thursday

Hello everyone. I hope that you are having a nice Thursday. Only one more day until the weekend. I cant wait!! Well here are todays deals! If you know of any other deals which I havent listed yet please let me know! Or comment about them so that others know about them and can take advantage of them!

USA Deals:

1. Here is a $10 off your purchase from Sears. There is no minimum purchase necessary so you could get $10 worth of stuff for FREE. That is fantastic.
2. I love H&M. This week I found a Buy one get one 50% off coupon. Here is a link to the printer version of the coupon! Unfortunately for me this is only valid in the USA.
3. Snapfish are giving new customers 50 Free prints when you sign up. Plus if you use code FREELABOR at checkout you will also get free delivery of the prints.
4. Here is another coupon for you! $5.00 off any size of Enfamil Premium Powder. Wht a great deal!
5. Im not sure of people know or not about Amazon Daily Deals. The deals change every day but there are some amazing deals there! Make sure to have a look!
6. Free is always good isnt it? Well if you think so too then sign up for Betty Crockers News Letters and she will send you a FREE box of potatoes. Here have a look at the website!
7. If you are a costco shopper like me then you will be happy to know that the new Costco Coupon books starts on the 17th of this month (September).
   
8. Do you order Dominos Pizza Much? Well whether you do or dont next time you do order from there if you order on line You can have Free Cinnastix if you Type in CINNASTIX at checkout and you get them FREE!
9. Meritline have on offer a CD Car Cassette Adapter for only $1.99. What a great deal if you want to connect something to your tape player in your car!
10. Get a FREE Jack Daniels Burger from TGIFridays when you become a Fan on Facebook. Click Register and follow the instructions!
11. Picture People Portrait Studios offers a Free Portrait Package with this printable coupon. The package includes: 1 8x10 2 5x7 and 8 wallets. Bargain!
12. Brunswick Bowling are offering bowling for 6 people for 2 hours and a free pitcher of coke for only $30.00 This includes shoe rental and can be used during the cosmic bowling. Just print off this voucher and take it to the nearest Brunswick bowling alley near you!
    

UK Deals

1. Tesco have a 6 pack of Lucozade for only £1.77. That is fantastic since it is nearly £1.00 per bottle some places.
2. The Toy Shop have on offer Moon Sand - Sandcastle for only £10.00 which is half price. Seems a really good deal if you ask me!
3. Asda is having their Disney DVD Sale. Monsters Inc for example is only £5.93 plus you will get Free Delivery. What a bargain!
4. Tins of Chocolates are on offer everywhere. I said to a friend today you can tell it is getting close to Christmas when the chocolates go on offer. The cheapest I have found is at Co-Operative they have Roses, Celebrations and Heroes BOGOF at £8.00. Which makes them only £4.00 each.
5. Amazon have on offer The Lost Symbol for only £4.99. Amazon still offer Free Delivery in the UK on orders over £5.00. This is a bargain for a hard back book! Especially one this new!
6. Asda's Baby Event is on now until the 27th of September. There are loads of deals to be had! Have a look at the link or in store today.
7. Amazon also have loads of Disney DVD's for very cheap. Including Sleeping beauty for less than £8.00 with Free Delivery.
8. The GAP are offering 30% off vouchers for filling in their questionnaire. Definitely worth it!
9. Odeon Cinemas are offering 25% off tickets with this voucher. Just print and take it in with you or book online. This voucher is good on all films until the 25th of September.
10. Ryanair are offering £1.00 flights again until Midnight tonight. Flights are to be taken from September - March. Plenty of flights still available! Have a look at the site!
11. Boots have 3 for 2 on most of their toys online at the moment. I am not sure if this deal is in store too. If you know please let me know!
12. Sainsbury's has the Hannah Montanna Microphone for only £2.00. I saw this on sale in Asda yesterday for £5.00 so the £2.00 is so much better!
13. If you get the Metro Paper (Which is FREE) then make sure to pick it up tomorrow. They are printing a Free Cup of Coffee from Mc Donalds in it tomorrow! Cant beat Free!
14. Argos have on offer the Silver Cross Ranger Junior Pram
    half price at only £16.99. Remember to reserve and collect to save money on shipping costs. They also have the Babies to Love Travel Cot with Accessories for only £4.99
    
15. Argos also have on offer the Disney Cars Walkie Talkies for only £5.99. Again Reserve and collect to save time and money!

Purse party favor candy bar holder!

This is the cutest simplest party favor, and cheap too!!!!
Supplies you need are Glue ( white, hot glue, ect), card stock one color or pattern unless you don't use ribbon as the strip then you would want a contrasting color, brads, ribbon for handle, nugget candy bar, and anything else you want to use to spruce it up, ie stamps ink, flowers,
First thing first one 12X12 paper will make about 12-15 depending on how accurate you cute the strips, you want them to be 5 inches long by 1 1/2 inches wide, you will fold it at 1 1/2 inches down from top 2 1/2 inches from top , and 4 inches from top ,( if you use paper for the strip in the middle it will be 5 1/2 long by 1/4 inch wide) like this:
next you take your purse and round the edges you can use a pair of scissors, or a scrap book cutter, this is done at the end that is the shortest with the fold,
Now you have this:
Then you take your ribbon or paper strip and glue it in place, folding on the folds as you work


Now you have this:
This is the side view when you fold it,

Now you want to take a pin or poker, seam ripper works great, to poke a hole through all the layers, this is the front of the purse, the ribbon or paper and the middle, this is for the brad, if you are using paper you can easily push the brad through without making a pre made hole , but i like the ribbon variety



Then you add the brad, this is when you would add a flower petal , or heart ect you have cut out or from scrap booking section at craft stores, the flowers already have holes in them

Now you want to either poke the seam ripper in for the 2 holes for the ribbon straps or use a SMALL hole punch, I used a reg one so you could see where about to place the hole. These do not need to be to big just big enough to place your ribbon through, ( curly ribbon is cheap most of us have it and it works great )

this is what i did for the handles a piece of ribbon about 5 inches long this is real hard to tie, so you may want yours longer, I honestly just eye ball it , and like them to vary a little,
then you put the ribbon through one hole tie it, then the other, easy easy cut off the extra and you are done!!!!!!

This way may be easier for us with bigger hands:) tie the handles then fold them insert brad and you will be done, wanted you to see both ways,

Finished project, now if you are gifting these at bridal shower, baby showers, wedding, or birthdays ect you may want to place a little piece of double sided tape to the candy bar to keep it in place, this is a perfect activity as well on those rainy days:) if you have questions just ask hope this is clear enough for everyone

Paper Bag Pumpkins

I found these on Kaboose.com I thought they are so cute and a really fantastic idea for Halloween treat bags. A friend and I are planning a Halloween party for about 32 of us and our friends children. I thought these would be adorable for the treat bags.Here is the how to:

What you'll need:

* 1 brown paper lunch bag
* Acrylic paint: orange and leaf green
* Paintbrush
* ¼ sheet brown construction paper
* 6- 12” pieces of green raffia
* Scissors

How to make it:

1. Paint the outside of the lunch bag with orange paint.
2. Paint the inside, top portion of the bag with leaf green paint. (See photo.)
3. Paint a second coat of orange paint on the bag, only this time, paint the top outside portion with the leaf green-colored paint.
4. When paint is completely dry, fringe the green section of the bag with your scissors, strips should be approximately ½” – 1” wide.
5. Fill bag with crumpled newspaper (if using as a decoration) or candy and treats.
6. Gather top of bag with your hand and tie a piece of raffia around it, just below the green section.
7. Continue tying pieces of green raffia around the neck of the bag until all of it has been used.
8. Cut a 1.5” wide strip of brown construction paper and roll up into a tube. Insert the tube of paper into the center of the green portion of the bag as the stem. If these bags are used as decoration, you can glue the stem in place.

Homemade Tortillas

I love to make homemade tortillas. Recently a few people have been asking me how to make them. I thought I would post a recipe here. Tortillas taste so much better when you make them yourself. I use tortillas to compliment a meal or sometimes I make them for dessert. Just depends on our mood.

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4-6 Tbsp. vegetable lard
about 1 1/4 cups warm water

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients first in a large bowl.

Add the lard use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut it in.

Next add warm water a little at a time until your dough is soft and not sticky.

Now you will pull off pieces of dough to form about 12 small dough balls. Let them
rest for at least 10 minutes, longer if you like.

This is a good time to heat up your frying pan. You will want to set it at medium to high heat. If it is too hot the tortillas will cook too fast.

Now you can roll out the dough with your rolling pin. Dust each ball with a little flour just before you roll them out. Roll them out fairly thin.

Lay your tortilla on the hot frying pan. It takes just a few seconds to cook. Flip to the other side. When they are done it should have lots of nice brown speckles. Place them in a towel to keep them warm before serving.

Halloween Wreath

I have been trying to get a few Halloween Crafts sorted out in time for the 1st of October. Yesterday I made this Halloween Wreath out of some spare material I had and a wire coat hanger. What do you think? I was so simple and so much fun! I just cut the material into strips and tied them onto the hanger. Thats it! So Fun and SO SIMPLE!