That Thing Called Life...A Day in the Life of a Crafty Mom

I started a post on this a few weeks ago and started getting so far in to it that it was looking more like a book than a post.  So, I decided to break it down in to a mini series called: Planning an Organized Home It's a short, six part series that I want to share with you on how I started to get our home organized and in a better routine than we have had in the past.  The more routine, the less whining "why do we have to??".  It becomes a part of every day life for every one in the house. The first thing I worked on were chore charts: one for the kids and one for the parents.  While I have a pretty good routine for my own household chores, having it in writing and staring me down keeps me from falling off track so much.  I searched online for different printable and customizable charts, and ended up finding some pre-loaded with my ancient laptop under Microsoft Works.  If you have Microsoft Excel or Word, you can do the same thing.  I attempted ...

I started out the new year with great intentions.  I have  a new blog journal with tons of subjects, a file full of photos on the pc, and a series on getting organized planned. So what happened? That thing called life. My huband's grandfather had what they believe was a stroke on the 4th.  On the 8th they called in the family....which was also my husband's birthday.  His Paw Paw didn't pass that day though, but did on the 10th.  Saturday the 12th was the receiving of friends and a beautiful military funeral.  Paw Paw was a wonerful man that we all loved and is missed so much already. Late Sunday night, about 11:30, my 7 year old wakes us up.  Stomach flu.  Worst I think I have ever seen.  Then she goes back to school on Wednesday and I take her 4 year old brother the doctor.  Strep infection.  At 5am Thursday, the stomach flu gets him. Now I'm not feeling so well.  We can't seem to catch a break. Hopefully next week I can get b...

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! We had a great one, despite half my family being sick.   So ready to start a fresh new year with everyone healthy! Okay, anyone make New Years resolutions? I have been compiling several bucket lists but no resolutions.  Just things I would like to accomplish wih myself, family, home and my craft business.  I wanted to start the new year out with a brief post to let you know what I am going to be working on over the next few weeks.  My daughter's birthday is 5 weeks away and I am planning a Willy Wonka party for her.  Last year she had a great sleepover that I blogged about and I was able to do so fairly cheap.  I hope to do the same this year and will be blogging as I go. That's it for now! I am trying out my new tablet for this post and its not the best.  There is no spell corrrect or I haven't figured it out...and this touch screen is not cooperating with my fast typing!! ...

We usually put our gingerbread house together on Christmas Eve, but with a long weekend this year I decided to let the kids start early.  I had already made these cute peppermint trays that I thought maybe we could use with them.  Actually, I saw the idea on Pinterest and had to give it a shot. Peppermint Trays Starlight or Peppermints Baking Tray Parchment Paper Preheat oven to 350.   Arrange mints in pattern you decide on.   Bake for 10 minutes.   Let cool.  Mine had some air bubble come up and I found that if you don't pop them immediately then they are not going away.  I just used a toothpick to smooth them out.   I think this would have worked better if I would have had some kind of mold to put them in because, as you can tell in the pic, the edges began to run.  Once it was cool enough to touch, I flipped it over and let it settle on that side, which was perfectly smooth.  I did about 3 just to ...

Buy the Elf on the Shelf & Book, find unique places for it all season. DONE! Have all shopping done by December 1st. NOT BY THE 1ST BUT BY THE 14TH Make/Sell 10 Christmas outfits FINISHING #10 RIGHT NOW! Go to McAdenville to see the Christmas lights.   DONE! Finally WALK through McAdenville instead of just drive thru it. BOO-TOO COLD Make a gingerbread house with the kids. THIS COMING WEEKEND Read 1 Christmas book with the kids every night. PARENT OF THE YEAR-NOT! Watch as many Christmas shows and movies as possible. TV STAYS ON ABC FAMILY!! Have Christmas Photos made early. HAHA-ON THE 18TH! Get Christmas cards mailed by 2nd week December. ON THE 19TH Go see Christmas House in Kings Mountain more than once. ONCE SO FAR, BUT WE GOT TO WALK AROUND IT THIS TIME! Find new places to see Christmas lights. NOT YET Have a Christmas get-together. DONE & 1 MORE! Add 1 thing to outdoor decorations. WINDOW LIGHTS Finish painting bedroom. YES BUT IT WAS A DISASTER ...

You've seen me post on my Bucket List about going to see the Christmas Lights in McAdenville-aka Christmastown USA.  It's a small little town in North Carolina made up mainly of small mill houses and gradually shifts towards new homes on one end.  In the very middle is this beautiful pond with a fountain in the center.  The fountain lights up in all different colors and the trees surrounding the pond are all decked out in lights as well.  There is even a Santa Claus blowing snowflakes.  Here's a picture.   We also go to a couple's house in Kings Mountain, NC.  The man that owns it, Grady, has hand made Christmas lights and decorations.  I'm not sure of the full history on it, but it is amazing.  There is a circle driveway around the home and he stands at the entrance in a Santa suit handing out candy canes to everyone in each car that comes through.  We usually drive through it twice, but this year we noticed people out walking.  I...

Hi, my name is Amy.  Not only am I a craft hoarder I am a procrastinator.  I "like" to do things at the last minute. I thought this year I was on a roll with Christmas.  All of my shopping done, everything wrapped, baking and cooking supplies ready.  Then it hits me: there are 2 days left of school and I do not have any teacher gifts!!  I need 4 super quick and inexpensive gifts for these great teachers now!  Ideas are spinning through my head and I check my stash of supplies, but I don't have enough equal parts of anything.  I had fully meant to order these customizable mirrors from my great friend Laura at the Purple Alligator  ( called Look It's ) and now I don't have enough time (unless of course I could borrow Santa's sleigh & could go get them ;-) ).  These make wonderful gifts and she has them available in all styles.  Look for a feature on her soon, in the meantime, here is what they look like: They even come with t...