Diaper Trike Challenge

When I first started my blog waaaaay back in June one of the many things of my list of projects to try was a diaper tricycle.  My friend Carolyn (see about 30 other posts for more details lol) had a baby shower for her cousin in law and wanted to give her one as a gift.  She emailed me with a link to show me a picture and dropped off all of the ingredients to make one.  After holding on to the ingredients for waaaaay tooo long.. I finally got to work the day before she needed it.  Have I mentioned that I work best under pressure?  The less time I have to finish something the better it turns out!  Seriously!  So here is the final product!

Also I thought that since it turned out sooo adorable I would enter it into my next craft competition..

Love,

Pinkapotamus!

O is for ....

O is for Oh My Gosh that is adorable! 

Just kidding.. but not really.  Okay so Stashbusting September is over.. phew.. I made it!  It was really fun, however, I missed my friends Michael, Joanne and AC Moore.  So October 1st my hubby decided that he would be SUPER nice to me and take me to the craft store!  yeah (insert jumping and clapping here)  We went to the shopping center that contains both a Michaels and a Joann's.. but I needed ribbon for a diaper trike (come back tomorrow for pics) so we ventured to Michaels first.

I LOVE the clearance section.. there have been MANY times that I have found some really great items on the cheap and Friday was no exception.  They had these really cute MDF letters on clearance for $0.79.  So I bought a bunch.  Then I came home and got crafting! 

They had lots of O's for some reason.. I guess there haven't been too many Oscar's or Olivia's this year. 

So I made 2 of them into O is for Owl, a boy one and a girl one.

And lastly I made the letter X into .. yes you guessed it.. X marks the spot (we Love anything pirate here)!

They were really fun to make and it great to be able to buy some new stuff to create with!  Onto the next project!

I am linking this to Making The World Cuter Monday @ http://makingtheworldcuter.blogspot.com/

and to Craftastic Monday @ http://sewcando.blogspot.com/

and to Trendy Treehouse @ http://thetrendytreehouse.blogspot.com/2010/10/creative-share-blog-hop.html

and at Sugar and Spice Link Party @ http://733blog.blogspot.com/

Love,

Pinkapotamus

Pot Roast.. Italian Style!

Growing up we were a meat and potatoes family.  Every Sunday night my parents would make a pot roast.  You know the kind.. served with carrots, potatoes and brown gravy.  I loved it.. but now that I am an adult and my tastes have changed.. so has my Pot Roast.  My hubby is half italian and together we made this awesome combination of deliciousness to make our Pot Roast.. Italian Style!

The Ingredients:

1 Pot Roast ( I buy the biggest one I can find when it is on sale for $1.99 lb)

1 35oz can crushed tomatoes with basil (I like Tuttorossa)

1 onion chopped

1 shallot chopped

1 package of mushrooms sliced

3 Tbls canola oil

1 Tbls butter

3/4 cup red wine

1 Tbls italian seasoning

3 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of peas (optional)

Heat your oil in a large pot.  Saute your chopped onions until translucent. 

While the onions are cooking trim the bottom layer of fat from the pot roast and season with salt and pepper.   Move the onions to the outside of the pot then add the pot roast and the butter. 

 Brown the meat on all sides. 

 Once the meat is browned add the mushrooms and saute.  Then deglazed the pan with red wine.  Add the peas, italian seasoning, bay leaves and salt and pepper. 

Bring to a boil then lower heat to low and simmer atleast 5 hours with the lid on.  Once the meat is tender and falls apart bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to desired thickness. 

I love to serve this dish over penne and topped with a generous helping of parmesan cheese.  And don't forget the bread to soak up all of the delicious sauce!

Hope you enjoy!
I am linking this recipe to FireFlies and Jellybeans Show Your Stuff Party @ http://www.firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/

Love,

Pinkapotamus

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