And the Award Goes to.... ME! (yeah!)

Sorry for being MIA the last few days.. we had a couple disasters at my house. Lost my neighbors daughter (its a looong story with a happy ending), a shipping nightmare and ..The biggest one was that my little guy got a case of stinovitis (what?) of the hip and lost the ability to walk for several days.  A little upsetting to say the least.. because my 3 year old was crawling again.  Needless to say I carried him around for several days so it did not leave much time for crafting and/or blogging.  He is feeling much better now.. but still gimping around a bit.  I swear sometimes.. that these things happen only to ME... I never even HEARD of Stinovitus!

So now on to the AWARDS! (yes I said awards with an S because I got 2!)

The first award comes from one of my favorite bloggy friends Maria @ Bubblegum and Duct Tape (don't you just LOVE that name?.. I DO!).  You can visit her at her blog @ http://bubblegumandducttape.blogspot.com/  She has amazing, original projects and loves to showcase beautiful tablescapes!  Maria was generous enough to bestow upon me the Boldfaced liar  Creative blogger award. 

This means that I now have to tell you 5 lies and 1 truth and you have to guess which is the true statement.  This is very involved.. so I will blog this post in a day or two. 

In the meantime, I was also given the Versatile Blogger Award by Allison at It's Toile Good.   Allison is amazing at sewing projects and has crafted some truly adorable kids wear and crafts.. You can visit her @  http://itstoilegood.blogspot.com to check them out!  You won't be disappointed.

So now here are the rules:

• 
  
  Thank and link back to the person that gave you the award.
• 
  
  Share 7 things about yourself.
• 
  
  Pass the award to 15 blogs you love and enjoy!
• 
  
  Let those blogs know they've been given the award.

1.  I suffer from asthma and spend lots of time running to help myself breathe better because I HATE to take medicine!  Although, right now I am taking lots of it because my asthma had gotten out of control over the summer!

2.  I have an incredibly horrible singing voice.. but it has never stopped me from singing a day in my life!

3.  Frozen peas are my favorite vegetable.  Strawberries are my favorite fruit.

4.  I am ALWAYS the youngest Mommy when we go to PTA meetings.. especially for having 3 kids.. atleast in my town.

5.  I love to bake and usually buy flour in the 25lb bag because heaven forbid I should run out (OH NO!)

6.  Reading is one of my favorite things to do with my kids.  They all love to read and we have been reading together since my oldest (who is 8) was about a month old.

7.  I signed up to get certified to be a SPIN instructor and will start in late October!

Now here are my 15 awards to share in no particular order:

Maria @ Bubblegum and Duct Tape  http://bubblegumandducttape.blogspot.com/

Cecily @ Craftopotamus (It's a hippo thing you wouldn't understand!) http://craftopotamus.blogspot.com/

Joy @ Mommaskindacrafty http://mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com/

Kristi @ Pumpkin Seeds Productions http://punkinseedproductions.blogspot.com/

Lauren @ That 22 Year Old Housewife http://22yroldhousewife.blogspot.com/

Julie @ A Journey Not a Race http://a-journey-not-a-race.blogspot.com/

Amy @ Crazy Craft Bugs http://crazycraftbugs.blogspot.com/

Donene @ Easy Peasy Grandma http://easypeasygrandma.blogspot.com/

Amie @ Kitty Cats and Airplanes http://kittycatsandairplanes.blogspot.com/

Frenchy @ Le Chateau de Fleurs http://lechateaudesfleurs.blogspot.com/

Jenny @ Embellishing Life http://embellishinglifeeveryday.blogspot.com/

Larissa @ Just Another Day in Paradise http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/

Ellen @ Creative Passage http://ellenscreativepassage.blogspot.com/

Lynette @ Get Your Craft ON http://getyourcrafton.blogspot.com/

Mama E @ Home and Hearts http://www.homeandheartsblog.com/  (We'll miss you!)

So go on now and share the love!
P.S.  don't forget to enter my giveaway at http://mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com/ and vote for me in the top 10 Iron Crafter at http://www.firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/ you may recognize mine.. its the puzzle!  Only 1 day left to vote!

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Psst.. over here!

Hello there followers!  I just wanted to let you know that if you want to see today's post you need to head on over to Mommaskindacrafty and meet Joy!

Joy is hosting my very first spotlight at http://www.mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com/

She is an amazing stay at home Mommy of 4 who was a fun, adorable blog about crafting (in what little time she has) and she hosts a Fantabulous Link Party every Friday!

She is also hosting a giveaway for one of my cute wall hangings!  Don't forget to enter!

Also today I found out that I am made the Iron Crafter Top 10 for cardboard boxes for my Halloween matching puzzle. 

Don't forget to head over to Fireflies and Jellybeans and vote for me @ www.firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Iron Crafter Cardboard Boxes

This is my second attempt to become the newest Iron Crafter at Fireflies and Jellybeans http://www.firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/.    I was soo excited when I saw that the secret ingredient was cardboard boxes.  I recently had a craft disaster with cardboard boxes from the dollar store.  Now I have come back with a craft remaster!  Here is my submission for the Iron Crafter competition:

Halloween Matching Puzzle

My kids love going to IKEA.  They love the food, the babysitting and of course the toys that are all over the store.  One of the things that they love to play with is the rotating puzzle in which you match the body parts of people or animals to make a whole person.  I have made my own Halloween theme puzzle using cardboard boxes!

First I found three different size cardboard boxes from the dollar store supply in the basement.

Then I primed the boxes to cover the pattern.

Then I painted the boxes black to match the theme.

While the paint was drying I cut out the shapes of the characters I was going to use.  I choose a ghost, a vampire, a witch and Frankenstein.  For each character I cut out 3 shapes; the head, the torso with arms and the legs with feet.

Then I Mod Podged the characters on to the boxes from head to toe so that all the pieces lined up properly.

Once the Mod Podge was dry I continued with the next character.  When all the characters were finished they looked like this!

I am sure that the kids are going to love remaking the characters again and again!

Don't forget to vote for me as Iron Crafter IF I make the top 10 because I MADE the top 10!

I have linked this to Saturday Spotlight @ http://nv-craftenvy.blogspot.com/

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Arrrh Thar Be Pirates!

In my house pirates are king!  My two little boys LOVE pirates.. everything about them.  I find them parading about my house wearing one belt around their shoulders and the other around their waste.  They have multiple swords and pistols tucked into their numerous belts and are fully outfitted in their pirate costumes.

When we moved into our house they asked begged to have a pirate bedroom.  So now I am S-l-o-w-l-y but surely adding pirated themed items to their room. 

Last night while I was NOT sleeping as usual I decided that I would raid my stash and see what I could come up with for them.   I found a package of 20 blocks and put 3 of them together to make a cute pirate sign for their room.  They woke up this morning and were so excited to find this!

In addition, today is an exciting day for me.  I reached 51 followers!  Whoo hoo!  A great big thank you to my loyal followers and a welcome to all my new comers.  Thanks so much for following!  I hope that I don't disappoint you!  P.S.  We are half way to a giveaway!  I am going to giveaway a custom children's mirror!
I am linking this to the 2x4 linky party @ http://craftersanonymousclub.blogspot.com/

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Complete This Sentence.....

Okay.. so I confess... I am totally ADDICTED to Mod Podge.  I could think of a million different uses for it and it can be found on items all over my house. 

But knowing your addictions is half the battle right?  I thought that today it would be fun to do something a little different in the form of : complete the following sentence!  Leave your sentence in the comment section!

You know you are addicted to Mod Podge when....

I'll go first!  I have lots more but I will start here!

You know you are addicted to Mod Podge when...everything in your house has been covered in scrapbook paper and Mod Podged except for the hubby and kids! (yes I did use it as a verb!)  And some days both contain traces of it!

Can't wait to see what everyone else has to say! 

By the way I will be participating in the Wandering Wednesday Blog Hop @ http://paisleypassions.blogspot.com/  Hope you'll join me!

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Hoo Are You? #15

Here is this week's Hoo are you tuesday with Night Owl Crafting @ http://nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/2010/09/hoo-are-you-15.html
I am soo happy it's back!


1. What is your Zodiac sign?
I am born on March 20 which makes me a Pisces on the Aries cusp.  Which means that I am a little bit of both.. or half crazy.. either way you want to look at it!
2. Name 3 things that are always in your purse besides your wallet.
Cell Phone
Rescue inhaler for Asthma emergencies
Keys so I can find them later!


3. Which magazines do you look at the most?
My favorite magazines are Martha Stewart Living, Runner's World and Family Fun.


4. Do you pluck or get your eyebrows waxed?
I get my eyebrows waxed.. so much better to do it ALL at once than to suffer repeatedly!


5. How often do you go grocery shopping?
I go grocery shopping atleast once a week, although I rotate the stores.  Sometimes I go to BJS, other times I go to Shoprite and still other days I go to the farmers market.  All depends on what I need!

Tune in next week for more exciting questions and answers!
Love,
Pinkapotamus

Fairy Fun!

My daughter and I love fairies!  Since before we moved.. we had planned to decorate her room in fairies.  We picked out a pretty soft lavender for the walls and my mom found a great Fairy bedspread from Kohls.   (The flowers are from her bedroom when she was 2 and we just couldn't part with them since they are so cheerful!) 

Recently I decorated her room by painting a huge lifesize fairy across the wall above her bed.   It is literally 4 feet long!

I really wanted to glue a fairy wand to her hand and hang a heart from her other hand.. but my husband would NOT allow glue on his precious new walls!

I also added a cute fairy mirror to the wall so that she can imagine herself as a fairy.

She picked out all of the colors, including the wings and skirt!

It has become a tradition in our family that in each of the kids bedroom's I paint a mural for them.  They are lots of work soo much fun to do and the kids love them.  So far we have done a page from "Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer" and a garden.   Next we are going to work on a huge pirate mural for the boys.. stay tuned!  I would love to hear what kind of bedrooms your kids have and what you have made to make them special!
I am linking this up to Today's Creative Blog @ http://todayscreativeblog.net/
and at Take a Look Tuesday @ http://craftedition.blogspot.com/
and at Sugar & Spice Link Party @ http://733blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/sugar-spice-weekly-link-party-25_22.html

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Refurbed Mirror

Recently I found a mirror at Christmas Tree shops that seemed like an interesting buy.  (It was purchased before my Stashbusting began!)  I brought it home and put it away. 

My neighbor recently had a baby and was looking for some things to decorate her nursery with.   The theme was blue and brown with polka dots and the only decoration that she had were letters that spell L-I-A-M

When I saw the letters I thought of the mirror that I had.  I told her that I would repaint it for her to match Liam's room.  Here is the mirror that I started with:

I was pretty sure that she did not want a pink mirror with a seashell!  So I took off the shell, primed the mirror and repainted it brown.  Then I painted circles of different sizes blue.   Finally I got the letters to spell Liam.  I painted them brown on the sides and blue on top to match the letters on the wall.  Lastly I glued everything on and this is what it looks like!

They loved it!  Hope you do too!

I linked this project to the before and after at The Girl Creative Chick Parade @ http://thegirlcreative.blogspot.com/2010/09/creative-chick-parade-day-five-before.html

and at The Sunday Showcase Party @ http://www.bystephanielynn.com/

and to Hoo's Got Talent @ http://nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/ and to Thrilling Thursday @ http://paisleypassions.blogspot.com/2010/09/thrilling-thursday-linky-party_22.html

and to Show Your Stuff Party @ http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/2010/09/show-off-your-stuff-party-46.html and to A Crafty Soiree @ http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/2010/09/crafty-soiree-4.html

and to Frogs and Snails link party @ http://733blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-are-little-boys-made-of-26.html

and to Make it Fantabulous @ http://mommaskindacrafty.blogspot.com/2010/09/make-it-fantabulous-4.html

and at Fabulous Friday Finds @ http://froufroudecor.blogspot.com/

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Souper Soup for Sunday!

Nothing could be finer than creamy soup at the diner!  Being from NJ diners are a staple of teenage life and beyond.  I can't tell you how many hours I spent drinking coffee, hanging with my friends and eating cheese fries with gravy. 

Now as an adult I love the diner for its soup.  It has saved me many nights of cooking, especially on Sunday when they have my favorite creamy turkey soup!

So here is my own version of Creamy Chicken Leek Soup that tastes just like it came from the diner!  And by the way.. once again.. it is not LOW FAT.. but atleast lower fat!

Ingredients

The Soup

4 Chicken breasts

1 onion

2 cups of baby carrots

4 stalks celery

3 leeks (cleaned really well so it doesn't taste sandy)

2 64oz cans of chicken broth

3 TBLS canola oil or olive oil

1 cup rice

salt and pepper to taste

The Rue (yes I have posted this before but it really versatile!)

1/4 stick butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk (your choice of % I use 2%)

salt and pepper to taste

I make the soup first so that it has time to simmer during the day.. the longer it simmers the better the flavors.  First heat the oil in a large pot.  Then chop the onion and saute, add a little salt. 

Once browned saute all of the vegetables. 

Pour in both cans of chicken broth.  Then add the chicken.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Let the soup come to a boil then turn the heat down to low and let it go!

About a half hour before you are ready to serve the soup add the rice and make the rue.

To make the rue, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. 

Once the butter is melted add the flour and whisk. 

 Once the flour and butter are combined add all of the milk..

do NOT let the flour mixture burn!  Stir constantly until the milk comes to a boil.  Then add salt and pepper to taste, turn the heat down to low and simmer covered for 1/2 hour.   Stir occasionally. 

Once the rue is done add it to the soup and Viola!  You have a creamy soup that is buttery and thick without using cornstarch as a thickening agent. 

We like to be really bad about this soup and top it with a pat of butter and some fresh ground pepper!  Hope you enjoy this souper Sunday soup as much as we do!

I am linking this recipe up the the Creative Chick Parade @ http://thegirlcreative.blogspot.com/2010/09/creative-chick-parade-day-four-recipe.html
and at Show Off Your Stuff Party @ http://www.firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/
and at All Thingz Related @ http://allthingzrelated.blogspot.com/
Love,

Pinkapotamus

Upcycled Magazine Holder

While searching for my glue guns last week (which I STILL have not found) I came upon a lucky discovery in my basement.  It was an old wood bucket that had some golf designs on it. 

Pretty ugly if you ask me.. but it got me thinking about what I could do with it.  

Then I had an "AHA" moment and realized that it would make a great magazine holder for the bathroom!  I hate when newspaper and magazines are piled on the hamper in the bathroom and this would be the perfect solution.  The bathroom is really small so anything that saves space is great!

I found some 40's inspired scrapbook paper in my stash and quickly got to work.. here is the before and after!

This is the holder after it had been painted black.

This is what it looked like as a finished product.

Now my poor husband is going to be forced to put up a shelf in the bathroom when he gets home so that we have a place to display the magazine holder...   I mean.. so that we have a place to store the newspapers and magazines!  Can't wait!
I linked this project to The Creative Chick parade @ http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/2010/09/creative-chick-parade-furniture-fix-up.html 
and to Upcycled Awesome #14 @ http://www.thetshirtdiaries.com/
and at Organize your Stuff @ http://organizeyourstuffnow.com/wordpress/
and at A Crafty Soiree @ http://www.katiesnestingspot.com/
and at Somewhat Simple @ http://www.somewhatsimple.com/
and at Thrilling Thursday @ http://www.paisleypassions.blogspot.com/
and to Ponytails and Fishscales @ http://pinkapotamus.blogspot.com/2010/09/upcycled-magazine-holder.html

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Mr. Pinkapotamus

Today I have to pay homage to my awesome husband.. Mr. Pinkapotamus!  Although if you ask Pastor Pam who married us.. he is technically Mrs. Pinkapotamus as she asked if I would take him to be MY lawfully wedded wife!

Here he is being super daddy!

He is awesome in sooo many ways.. here are just a few reasons why I love him:
1.  He makes me laugh everyday!
2.  He can fix and/or make ANYTHING!
3.  He knows atleast half of everything, which sometimes really comes in handy.
4.  He listens to me talk incessantly about my craft projects.
5.  He is a great Daddy!
6.  He knew that I was his even before I did (he always called me MY Amie)

Anyhow, today I have to thank him profusely for saving my crafting butt.. so to speak!  I recently had a customer purchase a step stool and a name plaque through my etsy site.  Both items were supposed to have trucks on them.  However, if anyone else shops in the unfinished wood department of the craft stores you too have noticed that the supply is slowly dwindling to nothing.  After days of searching for trucks for my project I came home empty handed.  I thought that I was going to have to refund some money.. but low and behold Super Hubby comes to the rescue.  He changed in a phone booth outside and popped back into the house with his cape and said, "I can make the trucks!" 

My Hero!

Then he proceeded to draw a quick picture of a truck and disappear into the basement.  After several tense minutes of angry buzzing from the bandsaw he appeared upstairs covered in sawdust triumphantly clutching four small wooden trucks!  He had saved my day! dadadumdum!

Here are what the trucks looked like after I painted them.

Here is what they looked like after they were embellished with several wood pieces that I had in my craft department.

Here is what the finished product looked like!

Yeah!  No refunds here.. just happy customers!  I think that I owe Mr. Pinkapotamus some serious kitchen love in the form of chocolate chip cookies.. his favorite! 
I am linking this up to Frogs and Snails link party @ http://733blog.blogspot.com/

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Monogram Door Sign!

I love stash busting!  I have been looking around my house for ideas on what to make with the pieces that I have in stock and today I found one.  Since we only moved into our house last November we have s-l-o-w-l-y been decorating it.  I feel like we are finally moving to a place in which our house looks more like a HOME!   But of course the upstairs is always the last place that we start to decorate as more people travel through our living room and kitchen.
This morning while going through my stash I found an adorable yellow canvas that I bought at Michaels one day on a whim.  I think it cost about $2 as it was a clearance item.  I thought it would make a cute door sign for my daughter.  So here is a quick tutorial on how to make a monogrammed door sign with butterflies.
I started by using my Cricut to cut out the Letter C for Cassandra.

Once the letter was cut out I glued it to the canvas.

Then I used my butterfly punch to cut the butterfly shapes in two different papers.  I have done this by hand and believe me the punch is soooo much easier.. totally worth the $9 or $5 if you have a coupon!

Then I glued the butterflies on one wing to the letter C all around so that they look as if they are flying up.

This is what the C looked like done.

Next I took apart an old silk flower that my sister in law had given my daughter for her birthday.  I painted a wood circle pink to match the center and glued the flower together.

Then I glued the flower into place.  Last I tied a bow in some grosgrain ribbon and glued it to the back of the canvas.

Viola!  A cute monogrammed sign for my daughter's door!  Here's the finished product!

The yellow and pink make me soo happy! 

P.S.  Please excuse my hanging device.. the doors are new and therefore I am NOT allowed to put holes in them!  I am going to have to Mod Podge that hook into shape.. but that is another project for another day!

I am linking this up to the Stash busting contest at @ http://the-tshirt-diaries-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/08/stashbusting-september-crafts.html

and at seven thirty three for the sugar and spice party @ http://733blog.blogspot.com/2010/09/sugar-and-spice-weekly-link-party-24.html

Love,

Pinkapotamus