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!

BARN SALE!

I am so excited about the Hesston Barn Sale this year!! I didn't make it last year, but heard it was tons of fun and there were some great finds! Mark your calendar and head on out!

Please print the flyer, pass it out to friends and strangers, blog about it, tell your facebook friends, invite your neighbors and help spread the word about the Fall 2011 Barn Sale. Help to make this the biggest and best Barn Sale yet!