Not necessarily "beating the heat"...

but definitely taking advantage of it!  You know those crayons you make by putting broken crayons in muffin trays and then baking them in the oven!!??? Well...we're "baking" them outside today!

What are you doing to "beat the heat" this Summer!?

A new twist on sidewalk chalk

My girls came to me one day asking if they could draw on the concrete walls of our window wells...now why didn't I think of that!!??? Fun activity and an improved view out the window!!

Vintage Headbands

My Aunt gave these headbands to my girls for Christmas...made from their Great Grandmother's buttons.  There were all different colors, each one unique in design.  It has to be one of my all time favorite handmade gifts.  So thoughtful and special.

Cherry Dessert or Salad

This is a recipe that I got from my Grandma. I always loved it when it was on the holiday dinner menu!  My family serves it as a "topping" for angel food cake, but it can be eaten by itself as well (great Summer salad)!

Cherry Dessert (Topping)

Ingredients:

1 large carton cool whip

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can (1lb, 4oz) crushed pineapple - drained

1 can cherry pie filling

Mix it all together in a large bowl and refrigerate (yep...that's it!).  It will keep for several days.  Can add nuts if you would like.  Serve with angel food cake or as a salad.

What is one of YOUR favorite family recipes?

Circus Themed Birthday Party

We got to celebrate the 1st birthday of a very special one year old this weekend!!  I thought the Circus Themed table my friend created was adorable...

There were pictures showing on the computer screen behind the table. It was a fun way to show off his first year!

Animal Crackers and Popcorn!  That just SCREAMS circus and they were displayed so cheerfully!

Peanuts and Rainbow Cotton Candy!  I haven't had these candy peanuts in YEARS.  Have you ever had them?  Orange, soft...my kids thought they taste like bubble gum.  What do you think?

She also has a chalkboard door in her house where she drew this....

So fun and cute!  Time for me to start planning a party for my "little" one!  Do you think I can convince my soon-to-be 11 year old to have a circus theme!!?? 

Pinterest Party!

Have you heard of a Pinterest Party!!?? I think it is a FABULOUS idea and that Maple Memories would be the perfect place for one! ;) If you are just hearing about this, here is what happens:
Everyone who is invited will bring either of these or both:
1. Bring all of the supplies that you will need to create a project/DIY that you have "pinned" on Pinterest.
2. Make a food or drink from a Pinterest recipe that you have pinned (it can be an appetizer, meal, dessert, snack, drink, whatever).

Doesn't that sound fun!?? You can plan your whole stay at Maple Memories around it or maybe just a take a "pinterest time out" from your quilting/scrapbooking! I think I will be getting my friends together for one soon! So fun!

Scor-Pal

So simple, yet ingenious!  Have you ever set out to make a handmade card, only to discover that folding it straight was the hardest part!!??  Well, I recently came across a tool that helps with just that...plus you can do so many more cool things.  (Stay with me and I'll show you!)  It's called a Scor-Pal and it looks like this...

The designer of Scor-Pal, Diana, was kind enough to send one for us to keep at Maple Memories.  YEAH!!  Now, when you come, you can try it out as well!!  Thanks, Diana!!!  Scor-Pal® creates accurate and precise scores giving you professional looking folds, no more crooked cards. Multiple scores are done in seconds without moving the paper. Perfect for accordion folds, boxes, fancy fold cards and other interesting projects! 

There are so many fun things that you can make with this thing...like these adorable little boxes.  You can find the step-by-step tutorial here.

This coffee cup box is just too cute!  What a great gift to give to a friend.

You can use it to score paper for cards, boxes, mini albums, or wherever you need a straight line! 

This little album was made using several scores with Scor-Pal.  Their blog is full of great projects and tutorials for you, so head on over and check it out!

Scor-Pal has other great products as well.  Including Scor-Tape, a double-sided adhesive that is available in many different widths...perfect for card and box making!  Oh, and did I mention that they also sent us a Scor-Pal!!???  It's a smaller version of the Scor-Pal...great for taking with you to your favorite crop or retreat house when your space is limited!  ;)  There's more, so head on over to the store, blog, and/or Facebook to check it all out.  Be sure to let them know that Maple Memories sent you!!  Happy Scoring!

Easter Craft Weekend, $75

Since Easter falls on a Sunday, that weekend is open EVERY year. So, we did some brainstorming and came up with a plan. INSTEAD of staying through Sunday, how about coming EARLIER and leaving on Saturday...at a discounted price!! Longer time + Less money = HAPPY EASTER! We would like to invite you to arrive on Wed (Apr 4) and stay through Sat (Apr 7) for the price of $900!!! Don't let this pass you by, call your friends, then email us at shannon@maplememories.com!! ;)  Craft your heart out, doing whatever you want for 4 days and 3 nights for only $75 a person (with a group of 12)!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Breakfast at our house this morning!  The kids said, "It's like we're at Perkins!" HA!

Sports Medal Holders

I found these beauties at a garage sale...

I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to do with them when I bought them. The man collecting the money turned to my kids and said, "Do one of you like teddy bears!?" I held my breath (not having the heart to tell him that I was going to paint right over those little bears), when my 10-year old daughter politely said, "I do." I love her.

After a coat of paint, I realized it might have been best to prime first (I did with the second one).  Thank goodness chalkboard paint is black...it covered those teddy bears right up.  Tada!

My son now has a place to display his sports medals AND a chalkboard for important messages.  I love the quote that's on it now, but I also like that we can change it to fit the latest stage in his life (or simply say GOOD LUCK on game day!). 

I made the other one for my daughter's room. It is still in need of a good quote. Any suggestions?

Heartwarmers

I was looking for a Valentine's Craft for the kids when I came across some "heart-warmers". If you head on over to "lovesome", she has a great tutorial and a free download of the cute little card to go with it!   All you need is felt, rice, and a sewing machine (or you could handstitch).

My 10 year old daughter has recently learned to embroidery, so she handstitched this...

She has a special friend from church that she wants to give it to tomorrow, which means I need to get off the computer and start sewing!  Keep warm and have a blessed day!

What Valentine's Crafts will YOU be working on?

I've got to get better about blogging!

Hello, my loyal followers.  I have been horrible about keeping up with this blog, but things are going to change.  I am going to find time to get "crafty" again...or at least point you in the direction of others that are!  ;)  Here's your chance to tell me what YOU want to see on this blog.  More recipes, scrapbooking layouts, product information, special deals!!??  YOU tell me and I'll see what I can do for 2012!!!

Now, I also have a favor to ask YOU!  I am looking for companies or individuals that have products that they would like to get noticed or samples they are willing to share.  If this is YOU or someone you know, have them contact me at shannon@maplememories.com.  I have something up my sleeve for the guests that stay at Maple Memories this year (and of course, those of you that read our blog).   So, be sure to email me AND send your friends on over!! 

Oh, and here's a special deal for you today...

Pick Your Plum has these adorable paper straws available TODAY ONLY at 61% off!!!  If you're not familiar with Pick Your Plum, you should check them out.  Each day they have an awesome deal on the latest and greatest of crafty items.  I want one of everything!  :)

Thanks a latte!

Looking for a super cute and easy gift to say "thank you" this Christmas season!?  I found this on eighteen25 and couldn't resist making it for my kids' teachers.  All I had to do was print it off, add a "java jacket" (I made mine out of brown cardstock), tie some jute around it, and add a GC to a local coffee shop.  We also gave each teacher a coffee mug to go with it. 

What do you give your teacher for Christmas?

Pinterest

Like many of you, I've become slightly addicted to Pinterest!  It has so many GREAT ideas...ALL IN ONE PLACE!  Need turkey treats for school.  Check.  Christmas ornaments for kids to make at church. Check.  Inspirational Words.  Check.  A new dinner recipe.  Check.  It's heavenly. 

Found on pinterest.  Original source: http://www.thehighheeledhostess.com/2011/11/turkey-treats.html. I used store bought "cookie icing" to serve as the "glue" to hold everything together.  Worked really well and dried fast.  Even the kids helped.  The above picture is our final product...pretty cute!

Found on pinterest. Original source:  http://craftysisters-nc.blogspot.com/2010/12/baby-jesus-ornament.html.  We made these for Sunday School, so in order to keep the cost down decided not to add the wooden star. 

 Great question, isn't it!?  LOTS of wonderful, insightful quotes floating around on people's boards.

Found picture on pinterest.  Googled Pineapple Barbecue Bacon Burgers and found the recipe here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pineapple-bacon-burgers/. 

Happy Pinning!

Sock Curls

My girls have stick straight hair.  They're not fond of sleeping in curlers and when they do it always seems like one or two fall out during the night, which leaves straight patches amongst a full head of curls.  Ugh.  So, when I found this video on using socks to curl your hair, I thought I would give it a try.  It's AMAZING!

I just used 3 trouser socks for our first try at it.  One on the top and 2 on the sides.  She went to bed, giggling because she had socks in her head!  :)

In the morning, I untied the socks and this is what it looked like...

Pretty cool, huh!!??  A couple nights later, we had my nieces over and decided to try our hand at it again.  This time using a little thicker socks, which made for a little bigger curl.

So fun!!!

Note:  Please ignore my streaky mirror.  Little hands were hard at work "helping" me clean!  :)

Faux Tile

The Transformation - Part 3.  (Feel free to take a look back to Part 1 and Part 2 if you would like.)  This post is going to focus on one room...the basement bathroom.  This stonework in this bathroom is amazing...the concrete floor, not so much!

The thought of getting flooring to lay nicely on concrete that wasn't level and then cutting in to match the unevenness of the stone seemed like a nightmare.  SO, we decided to grab some paint instead!

We used Latex Garage Floor Paint and turned the concrete floor into this...

 

Now, keep in mind that we did this project 5 years ago before we had entered the blogging world.  Do you know what that means!??  We didn't take ANY pictures of the process. Not one. 

HOWEVER, after 5 years of use, we began to notice it looking a little worn.  This might be fine in some areas, but in the bathroom it just appeared "dirty"...NOT the look we were going for.  I was actually really excited that we needed to repaint because it meant I could share the process with all of you!!!  ;)

STEP 1:  Figure out your pattern.  We wanted the 12 x 12 tile look.  Tape off anywhere that you DO NOT want to paint.  It's amazing how much the bare concrete below looks like grout when it's all done.  We used painters tape, which we cut with an exacto knife to make it thinner.  Someone later recommended using mechanical or electrical tape, as it comes in thinner widths. Wondering how it would pull up though?

 

STEP  2:  Begin painting with a roller...EASY.  When we originally painted the floor, we used a roller with a long handle for the main part of the floor and the shorter handle one to trim.  This time we didn't have the long handle...much harder on your back.  If you have a large space, we HIGHLY recommend the long handle!!

STEP 3:  Let dry and pull up the tape. This is my favorite part!

There you have it!  Plain, gray concreted turned into tile with nothing but a little paint!