winner! winner! we have a winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered my 1 year blogoversary FAVORITE THINGS giveaway! I truly have enjoyed being able to share with you my life and passions. I have met some great blogging buddies and have had the most wonderful support from my family and friends who encourage my addiction for blogging, so I can share all of the creativity and "stuff" that's bursting to come out!

But, I know you're really waiting for this part...we have a winner!!

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Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

8

Timestamp: 2009-06-04 06:24:56 UTC

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I'm so excited to announce (and a little shocked...I promise I didn't rig it) that my IN REAL LIFE friend, Kim at Caldwell Cuties, is the winner!

She says in her comment that she left on my giveaway post...

Heidi,
Congrats on 1 year!! Has it really been that long. Wow.

I am going to guess you will send me a Baja Fresh meal:) Kidding. I think it will definately include Modge Podge and some note cards.

Have a great day in the sun!

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Well, Kim, you don't have to e-mail me your address because I know where you live AND I get to save on shipping costs...how cool is that!? *wink*

When Kim receives her box full of fun stuff, she will post it on her blog and I will send you all that way so you can find out what exactly was inside MY FAVORITE THINGS goody box. I know you're all dying to know!!

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Kim and I met almost 3 years ago at the Providence Hospital Mom's Group with our first little kiddos. They are about 6 weeks apart. However, it wasn't until our kiddos were both about 1 year old when we really started hanging out together more. We have so many things in common...especially our love for creativity! I like to claim that I got her hooked on scrapbooking. And, although, I liked making cards before, I think she has inspired me to do more within this last year because she's just so good at it!

Here's a pic of our "firstborn" at the Zoo, which I find a little ironic because we're actually headed to the Zoo again today together! Hopefully we can snap a cute shot of ALL four of the kids. Our second children were also only born 2 months apart (Austin is older than Elizabeth). Kim is now expecting her third...but I won't be joining that club with her this go 'round. She's all on her own! *wink*

Mikayla (15 months) & Kenneth (13 months)

And only 2 years later...

Mikayla (3 years) & Kenneth (34 months)

I wonder if in 2 more years we can get them to hold hands like this?

Kim, Thanks for being a great friend, support, encourager, and a short phone call (or e-mail) away! Looking forward to sharing more fun times together as our kids grow up!

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And, lastly...

I was featured at Creative Parties & Showers for Mikayla's tea party birthday celebration with her little girlfriends. If you haven't yet, you must go check out this great party planning site where Shannon shows off parties and showers from all over blog land. You will definitely be inspired!

And keep scrolling down to see my water bottle tag tutorial!

water bottle tag drink holder thingamajig

Boy, I should really figure out a name for these creations that I'm about to show you, but I've got nothin'! I've heard them called water bottle life vests...and that's pretty cute!

Some of you have been asking, so I (finally) pulled through and here is my tutorial for the water bottle tags I've showcased a few times on my blog. I need to give credit to my friend Andrea who got me hooked on these little cuties after she made them for a baby shower we co-hosted together. After she made them for the shower, I ended up making some for Mikayla's birthday party.

And, because I always enjoy making something new... Just for you, I made a completely different one to share as my tutorial.

I'm going to list the materials I used, but obviously you can adapt this to what you have in your crafting supplies (all of the products are Stampin' Up! - surprise! surprise!) And I'm going to share a lot of step by step instructions just to be sure I covered it all!

Materials:
**note SU! = Stampin' Up!
- SU! Certainly Celery cardstock
- SU! Rose Red cardstock
- SU! Whisper White cardstock
- SU! Regal Rose Designer Series cardstock
(I'm not going to lie...I'm hooked on the coordinating papers that Stampin' Up! has to offer...it's so easy to match the colors and actually KNOW they go together)
- 2" scalloped punch
- 1 3/4" circle punch
- 1 3/8" circle punch
- SU! dimensionals
- 1/8" hole punch
- SU! Regal Rose ink pad
- SU! stamp from the Seeing Spots stamp set (this set is actually retiring...go take a look at all of the great SU! products that we're saying goodbye to and let me know if you're interested in anything - nice sales pitch, huh? *wink*)
- paper cutter
- adhesive
- pencil
- small brads (I chose silver)


Step 1: Measure your base color (Rose Red) 2-1/4" x 7-3/4". Score (or fold) 2" on each end. One flap goes up and one flap goes down.


Step 2: Measure and trim your coordinating designer paper (Regal Rose) to fit inside the larger part.


Step 3: Stamp your image on white and punch it out using the 1-3/8" punch.


Step 4: Using your coordinating color (Certainly Celery), punch out a scalloped circle and 1-3/4" circle using your punches. Adhere the stamped image onto the 1-3/4" punched circle.


Step 5: Adhere the scalloped circle to the top part of the strip of paper (the part that will fold down and go over the water bottle). If you're going to do it the perfectionist way, mark a little bit of an outline of the 1-3/8" circle on the scalloped circle to know where to punch.


Step 6: Line up your 1-3/8" circle punch on the penciled outlines and punch through.


It should look like this...


Step 7: Fold up the other end of the paper and using your 1/8" hole punch, punch a hole on either side near the top of the fold. This is where your brads will go.


Step 8: Feed the brads through each hole.


Step 9: Place one dimensional on the back of the circle with the stamped image so that it will stick out a bit and place it on the empty space.


Step 10: Place the top over your water bottle, add a Crystal Light packet, and you're finished!

from Mikayla's birthday party

the one my friend made for the baby shower

The ideas for the cuteness factor are endless!

If you need to know more about all of the fun products I showcased...don't hesitate to ask!!

bad idea?

Fudgsicles on a hot day...sounds like fun!

And then things went horribly wrong...

At least I was smart enough to take
off his shirt before the mess got too bad.

Note to self: Never again.

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

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Today is the last day to enter my giveaway!

I've postponed this month's craft challenge (monograms) until next Thursday, June 11th, but come back tomorrow for a little tutorial on how to make these...

Some of you have been asking,
so of course I'm (finally) coming through for you!

mod podge mania!

So, how late is too late to come to a party? I guess we'll find out!!

Mod Podge Mania snuck up on me this month and I completely forgot about it until I headed on over to Xazmin's blog to say hi and realized that Sunday was the day to share our Mod Podge creations! Thankfully, I had some projects that I already wanted to share, so I didn't have to whip out anything last minute. I just hadn't gotten around to posting about them yet with the beautiful sunshine blaring at me to get off the computer (well, that and my exhaustion and lack of wanting to do ANYTHING productive yesterday!)

The first project I can't take credit for because it was made FOR me for Mother's Day by my sister-in-law, Kristen. It is a Mod Podge Memory Game using pictures of our family. Isn't it adorable?! Kristen also gave one to my mother-in-law. I love gifts that are both crafty and fun to do with the family. Mikayla loves to match, so this is something fun we can all do together!

Each of the squares is a 2x2 chipboard square (you can buy them pre-cut in packages)
with decorative paper Mod Podged on one side and a picture on the other.

The next projects were something I made for the Craft it Forward I hosted on my blog a few weeks ago. These are plain white frames with decorative paper Mod Podged over the top to give it a fun look!


I have another project that I've been working on that involves Mod Podge, but I wanted to save it until it's complete, so I'll probably wait until the next party at the end of June...if I remember!!

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Also, big announcement: This month's craft challenge has been POSTPONED until NEXT THURSDAY, JUNE 11th!! Keep working on those MONOGRAM projects (or dig into your blog archives and find one to share) and come back on June 11th to share with everyone. I'm contemplating taking the summer off for the craft challenges since it's usually full of nice weather (playing outside) and family vacations...what do you all think?

fun times with friends

**Warning! Long post ahead!**

Last Sunday morning we headed down to Coos Bay to visit friends. It was our first time heading that direction since before Austin was born. They make the drive up here often and the last trip when they came in January for Playhouse Disney Live! here in Portland, we promised that we would come down to visit them next. We followed through on our promise and despite it being a short trip (left home Sunday morning and arrived home Monday night), it was well worth the 3 1/2 hour drive! We had so much fun and love to be with the Moore family any chance we can get!

The drive down was rather painless. We left at 8:30 in the morning right after breakfast. I had packed some fun things to do in the car...sticker books, cars, play phone, coloring book, etc. We tried to hold off as much as we could before we put in a DVD. I think we lasted a little over an hour before they were ready for a movie. The rest of the time went by rather quickly and with plenty of snacks to hand out and me being engrossed in The Shack, we made it to Coos Bay a little after noon.

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating lunch, playing in the backyard (the weather was beautiful!) and while the kiddos (that's for you, Jason) napped, the adults got to do some catching up. In the evening, another couple came over for dinner and we had the most amazing meal!! The homemade salsa that Jason made was to die for and I made him promise that he must bring that the next time they visit! So much for "watching what I eat". That didn't go over too well on the trip.

When it was time for bed, we decided the girls could sleep in sleeping bags on the floor in Chloe's room. It started out so fun and cute and so of course I took pictures of Mikayla's first sleepover, but the fun quickly wore off for us parents with all the giggling, running down the hall, "pretending" they were asleep, etc. that the girls continued with for over an hour! Finally, at 10:00, we had to give up our competitive game of Sequence to go tend to the girls. Mikayla ended up going back into our bedroom where Austin had been asleep for quite some time, and it took us another 45 minutes of her being "wired" before she finally dozed off (I had to lay down next to her on the floor for her to fall asleep...but she was out in 5 minutes or less once I finally got smart).


The next day started early. Austin decided that since he went to bed at the normal time, he had had enough sleep. We tried to keep him quiet and brought him into bed with us, but that didn't last long before I tried to sneak out of the room without him waking Mikayla. I had just made it to the door when all of the sudden he yells out "Issy!" (sissy) And, lo and behold, Mikayla pops up her head. Fun times when traveling, right?

We decided to head to the park by the lake in the morning and it was a beautiful day for a walk...

Austin (20 months) & Allyson (22 months)

Chloe (3 years) & Mikayla (3 years)

Enjoying a little snack after playing hard!

Kara & Jason

Austin sacked out on the way home, and we were able to transfer him to his bed where he slept for an hour and a half. I guess that's what happens when you wake up so stinkin' early!! The adults played another game of Sequence and enjoyed some lunch while the girls all played outside.

Right before taking off to leave for home, we went to the beach which was just a short 15 minutes away. The older girls had a wonderful time! They loved running to the water and filling up their buckets...doing it over and over.


Austin, on the other hand, not a fan of the beach. Just look at the disgusted expression on his face. And he has shoes on so it's not like the sand is even touching his feet! He literally would not even move.


All he wanted to do was be held. Does he not just look miserable? You would think we were somewhere awful. It's the beach for crying out loud!


And Allyson was the same way. She would not let her feet touch the sand. Too funny those sweet little kids!

On the way home we decided to stop for a treat at Dairy Queen where the kids shared a chocolate sundae. Now this may have been a mistake...a sugar rush on a road trip! Not smart.

Look at that icecream dripping down his front!
We had to pull over before we even left town to clean up the mess.

The ride home was definitely not painless...more like painful! Even a movie wasn't working! Mikayla had only slept for 15 minutes on our short ride to the beach. She didn't sleep a wink on our drive home, so I'm pretty sure she was exhausted especially after a late night. At one point, we had to pull over on the side of the road because Mikayla had to go to the bathroom so bad and there wasn't an exit for miles. So, I whipped out the old Pull Up and gave her permission to pee as she pleased. Sheesh! What a great mom! I guess you do what you gotta do!

Instead of hitting up the drive-thru, we decided to let the kids get out to play while Ryan and I ate and then they could have their dinner in the car. We knew this would put us home a little closer to bed time, but EVERYONE was getting antsy and we needed out of the car desperately. This was such a smart move for us! The kids had a great time running around in the McDonald's play structure for 20 minutes or so. And then they were happy to eat their hamburger and fries while we finished up the last hour of the drive. We pulled into the driveaway a little after 8:00 PM and didn't waste any time in getting the kids to bed. I think they both were asleep by 8:30. ...exhausted from the two days of playing hard!

It was a great trip! We had such a fun time (as always) with the Moores and can't wait until our next adventure!

random ramblings

Hello! Remember me? Yea. I'm the one that you used to see around your place from time to time. Sorry it's been awhile, but I hope to catch up with you all soon. In the meantime, I have a couple of loose ends I'd like to tie up concerning this here little blog of mine.

FIRST - Giveaway!

Don't forget to enter into "My Favorite Things" giveaway ending next Wednesday. I'll be sending one lucky person a goody box full of my favorite things in honor of my 1 year blogging anniversary.


SECOND - Awards!

How lucky I am to be given some great awards from such wonderful woman who read my blog. For that, I am so thankful!

A BIG thank you to Tracey at Girls to Grow, Kelli at Outside my Kitchen Window and Lisa at Moore Minutes for this One Lovely Blog Award. How sweet of you to think of me!


Another BIG thank you to Kelli at Random Thoughts of a Supermom for the superstar award. Trust me, I'm far from Superstar, but it sounds kind of fun anyway! *wink*



THIRD - Featured!

I was happy to hear that Mikayla's lollipop birthday party was featured yesterday at Creative Parties & Showers. I love this site for so many inspiring party ideas, so it's an honor to have one of my parties showcased. Go check it out HERE.

Updated to add: My mom just told me that my lollipop party was also featured today on One Pretty Thing because of my feature on Creative Parties & Showers. How fun!

FOURTH - Craft Challenge!

Don't forget this month's craft challenge coming up next Thursday, June 4th. Seriously! How quickly does a whole month go by? We'll be linking up all of our MONOGRAM projects. Come back to see some ideas I have found from searching the "net" that will hopefully inspire you! I'll try to post those over the weekend. I can't wait to see what you all come up with. If you want to help spread the word, grab the craft challenge button on the left hand side bar. You can also click that same button for more information and to view past challenges.


FIFTH - My first Stampin' Up! Workshop!

I had my first workshop last night at my mother-in-law's house. I think it went really well, other than I think I might have talked too much! Stampin' Up! has so much to offer that I just wanted to share it all!! I demonstrated two projects, then the ladies all got to do a "make & take". It was the same one that I did at my open house, which worked out well since none of the ladies attended my open house.

Demo Projects
(candy treat holder & card)

Make & Take Project

Set of notecards I gave the
"hostess" as a thank you!

SIXTH - Fun time, sun time!

There's just something about having gorgeous weather that makes everything on the "to do" list get put on hold. That's exactly what this week has been like here in Oregon. We have been so blessed with sun, sun, and more sun! It's a little unusual here in the Northwest to have such great weather (and no rain!) that lasts so long, so I'll definitely take it! We haven't really done much other than enjoy playing outside in front of our house. We're simple folk here at the Boos household. Like I think I shared before...we're kind of homebodies. And for the most part, I'm OK with that.

We did go to the park last week, so enjoy the few pics!


And, in closing...

Is this not the sweetest thing! They're only drinking water out of a cup, but they did this for a good 15 minutes...talk about cheap entertainment! They would drink it and then Mikayla would run and go fill it up for more. Gotta love when these two little ones are getting along!