{Guest Post} Sarah @ This Crazy, Blessed Life

My first ever guest post today... I am so excited. 
I met Sarah when she started joining the Thrusday Mingle With Us Blog Hop.
Hop over to Sarah's blog, and you can see my recipe for Chocolate Cake 4 Ways.

Hey everyone!  I'm so excited to be posting here today!  I've got such a fun little project to show you that has so much potential.

But before I get carried away, allow me to introduce myself :)  I'm Sarah and I blog over at This Crazy Blessed Life.  My blog is a little piece of my everyday.  I share mommyisms, recipes, crafts and sewing projects, and more.  My blog is my sanity.  It has given me a chance to connect with other people like me...and as weird as it sounds, it's one of the only pieces of my life that is just for me.

My life has recently been pretty Disney focused since we are taking our first Disney World vacation very soon!  I've been planning which parks we'll go to one which days, where we are going to eat, what rides/attractions we must do.  Even my kids clothes to match the parks :)  When a friend asked what kind of autograph books we were getting to take, I had a mini panic.  I didn't even think about autograph books!

So when I was at Michael's the other day and they had these cute little notebooks for $0.60, I knew what I had to do!  I bought two...not caring what was on the front of them.

And after pulling out some old Scrapbook paper scraps and using my trusty Cricut and a little bit of Mod Podge, these were created!  

Wanna learn how? It's super easy! 

Supplies 

Notebook 

Mod Podge 

Scrapbook Paper 

Scissors 

This was such a fun project to tackle with my kids! They are only 2 and 4, but they had a great time picking out their papers and helping mommy cut out Mickey Mouse heads. For some reason, we used the one's mommy cut out...I can't imagine why! :) 

After figuring out which paper you want for the background, trace around the front of the notebook and cut a square to fit the cover. Apply Mod Podge to the front of the notebook and press it down making sure that there aren't any air bubbles. Let it dry for a few minutes. 

Apply Mod Podge to the paper where you plan to add your other embellishments (i.e. our mickey mouse heads) and press the layers down firmly. Repeat until all of your cover is assembled. 

Apply a layer of Mod Podge over the top liberally. Yes, it goes on thick and white, but it will dry nice and clear. I promise!

 

What I love about this project is that you can customize it and do it to just about anything! Spiral school notebooks, composition notebooks, folders, whatever! It's a great way to get your tween that Justin Bieber notebook for the price of the $0.05 back-to-school plan one that you scored! Or to make your custom Batman/Transformer/Spiderman combination that you can't find anywhere that's exactly what your boy wants!

Thank you so much to Amanda Joy for having me!  And come over and say Hi!  I'd love to *meet*  you!

Thanks so much Sarah... this project will definitely come in handy for our Disneyland trip next month!

Bathroom Tile Coasters

Don't forget to watch for 10% off your purchase at Amula Designs on a lucky day and 5% off everyday in February.

Post Edit~ If you do this project, make sure you use paint instead of crayons.  Tile Sealant does not stick to wax, which we unfortunately discovered this weekend.  It's all about trial and error people:)

 

I just found these images on my camera and figured it was about time to post it:) 

For Christmas I wanted to make my step dad some coasters.  He used to use those corkboard coasters, but when you spill enough liquid on them, they get pretty atrocious!

I wanted the kids to be involved with the gift as well, so I whipped out the crayons and let them have at it.

I wrote who did what tile, and what age they were when it was drawn on.

I got the tile at Lowes and the felt tabletop protectors at Walmart.  The total project cost me about $3.  After the kids were done coloring on them, I sprayed the tiles with Krylon Clear Acrylic Spray.

I thought that would be enough, but it wasn't. 

Friendly Tip~  The tile that said, 'I LOVE Papa" on it was completely rubbed off.  

My mom ended up using 3 coats of Tile Sealant, and so far the images have been protected.

It was a thrifty gift, made with love, and my step dad loved it.

This kind of project would make a great Mother's Day or Father's Day gift too.



Almost Good Enough To Eat

I decided to do a homemade Christmas for 2009.

I made some felt food for some cousin gifts for Asher and Abbie to exchange. It took longer than I anticipated because I was hand sewing everything. It was good practice, as I learned that when I make some felt food for Asher and Abbie's new play kitchen, I want to use a different stitch.

Asher actually helped me sew. I would push it through and his two year old fingers would pull. (Albeit usually too hard so that the needle came off of the thread.) His favorite was the red butterfly sugar cookie. He walked around holding it saying, "Buggerfly cookie, eat the buggerfly cookie. Buggerfly cookie Asher's favorite." (Yea for pigeon english) He was so excited.
He also wanted to eat the 'tend (pretend) donuts. Next time I will make the donut holes smaller so that they look more realistic. I liked how both sets turned out overall, and I picked up some self taught tips for next time.