Vinyl Practice

A friend of mine wanted some simple vinyl lettering for her glass canisters. Evidently, sugar and salt look alike and random chaos can occur from time to time. Because my other friend and I swapped cutting machines (she foolishly wanted my Cricut instead of her Silhouette), I needed to learn how to use the Silhouette better than I did to feel comfortable enough to cut the labels for the canisters. 

So I practiced. This is on the inside of my pantry door, just for fun. 

See what it looks like in there without the nifty light my brother installed for me a couple of years ago? Dark and dismal. 

Oops, the Panko crumbs are out of place. 

Laura was already a pro at using the Silhouette. I put the following vinyl lettering up months ago, but I don't think I ever showed you. 

Cute stuff. Thanks Laura!

I had one extra, so I slapped it on the dryer. 

I'm supposed to get a new washer and dryer next Black Friday. Woohoo!

Before I practiced on the pantry door, I did this little thing first. At Target, they have these in the dollar section. Since I'm no longer employed, I've started clipping coupons. Well, really I clip because it's fun to see how far I can reduce the total on my receipt. Yesterday, at Target, I spent $44 and that was down from $64! I thought I needed to organize the coupons so it doesn't take me three hours trying to go through them. 

It comes with little tabs you can write on and stick to the insert. Now I can actually find the coupon I'm looking for in less than three seconds instead of three minutes. 

Playing With Cards

In Cheryl's lesson last month she said we needed to expand our circle. We go out with a couple ladies from our ward every month, both of whom belong to a card group. One of the ladies, Mindy, invited me to be a part of the group. I told her I didn't know how to make cards but if she would hold my hand through the process, I would give it my best effort.
Mindy gave me the idea, the supplies and the support I needed to make the cards. I think it turned out pretty cute for my first try.

This is how the card turned out that Mindy made for me as an example. I like it the best because of the font on the word "cake." I also prefer her button.

I thought I had some buttons at home like hers, but I didn't. I had a bunch of the turquoise buttons, 

so that's what I used on the other cards.

 I guess I'm going to have to keep the red button card because then all the other cards will be the same as the rest. Besides, isn't it only fair that I give away cards that I made instead of card(s) Mindy made? I can't help it if that's the cutest one of the bunch, can I?

Dancin' The Night Away

Last Sunday night we had a family dinner at my house. After the dinner was over and most of the people had left, we started the "real" party. It was a blast!

See Brooke in the background? I love her! 

Is it okay to dance on a Sunday? 

Time Out Is A Wonderful Place To Be!

My friend, Michele, Karen, Cheryl and I are on our way to Layton for a little time out. Tonight we will hear Michael McLean among others. Tomorrow we will hear from Kate and Sara of Our Best Bites (like I even need to tell you that part).

I decided "my girls" needed a little chocolate for all the stress they must be under for their presentation, so I'm taking them a treat. You can see Sara's post for how I made these here. Yes, I'm taking them their own idea, but I'm really okay with that.

Can I say just I'm a little excited? I'm a little excited.  

P.S. Kate's nickname for me is PattiCake, so that's how I signed it. 

My Volcanologist

Last week, Caleb, Karen and Bud watched a TV show about volcanoes. Caleb absolutely loved it, so a few days later, he and I did some experimenting in the kitchen. He had a blast. We rolled out some Play-doh and attached it to a jar. Here you can see he is rolling some Play-doh into a ball (no, he isn't preparing to pray).

Stir it up! 

I loved his surprise the first time he saw it explode! The fun part for me was seeing his reaction which stayed terrific every time. 

We went through an entire box of baking soda and several pints of vinegar.

He loved our fun time in the kitchen (who knew you could have a fun time in the kitchen without ending up with a plate of cookies as the result?).
I have now written this post three times as Blogger keeps crashing on me. I think I will hurry and post it before it crashes again. Such frustration!