Happy Halloween from Two Cuties!

My four year old brought this home from preschool and can't get enough of this!

Happy Halloween from two little cuties!

A Witch's Halloween Decorating Fun

Happy Halloween!! When do you have your costumes decided and done? I used to have them decided much earlier, but this year my kids took their time deciding, some even just decided a little over a week ago! Eek! Had me scrambling a bit.

But this one has had the spirit of Halloween all month, dressing up MANY times a week in different costumes and having fun with them. With all our fun house decorations and her in this witch costume last week, the camera had to come out though!

She told me laughingly, that these boots were just too BIG for her. lol Cracked me up!

Fellow Bloggers Featured!

I love finding and sharing the genius of other bloggers and am excited to show you these today!

hahaha Check out some of these 120 ways to decorate your car for Trunk or Treats from the Dating Divas!

I love this DIY Lego Tray from Somewhat Simple

Crafty Time Saver: 5 minute Halloween blocks {craft}

#minutecrafts #halloweencrafts #halloweenblocks #ghostblock #mummywrappedblock #frankensteinblock #createitgo #ontheblog #diy #repurpose

I don't know about you, but when I hear 5 minute craft! or even 15 minute craft!...I am all ears!

This one fits right in that category. SO easy! So cute! So fun! And great for little ones and adults alike!!!

All you need is:

DIY Frozen OLAF Inspired Costume

#diy #olaf #frozen #costumes #olafcostume #createitgo

Do your kids LOVE the movie "Frozen"? Does your whole family know the words to the song "Let it Go" (like mine does)? Then you're going to love this costume!!

My daughter decided just last week that she was GOING to be Olaf for Halloween this year. Good thing I overheard her telling someone else this! haha

So I set out to see what costumes were out there.

DIY Strawberry Shortcake Costume

#strawberryshortcake #diy #diyhat #dressup #costumes #strawberryshortcakecostume

How soon do your kids decided what they want to be for Halloween? Some day I wont be making costumes the week of Halloween, or even the day of. haha My daughter decided the week before Halloween that she wanted to be Strawberry Shortcake. Eek! Well, we started looking for costumes and found a few, but unfortunately, they all seemed to be cheaply made and flimsy. Not only that, but they ALSO came with a pretty good price tag, so we set out to make our own. 

I actually typically make my kids' costumes anyway, but had actually thought I'd take a break from some of them this year. I am so glad I didn't though. I love the way this one came out! And so does she! (And that's really all that matters.)

I decided that we might even just look for a skirt that would work, but was skeptical, bc she obviously wanted polka dots on it. We hit the jackpot with this cute pink eyelet skirt we found on clearance at Walmart. The eyelet fabric makes it look like polka dots and she was happy with it, so there you go! (It was a few sizes too big, so I just took in the waist a bit.)

Then we grabbed a shirt at Walmart as well and some fabric that would work to make a hat, designs on the shirt and a strawberry bag (which was also a must have to her). Apparently it just isnt the same without the strawberry bag. haha

We just freehand cut out a strawberry shape out of the fabric...

A Healthy Boost of Homemade Honey Almond, Coconut and Cherry Granola {Recipe}

#healthyeating #eatclean #recipe #granolarecipes #createitgo 

Happy (almost) Halloween! Are you ready for your house to be invaded by a TON of sugar!!!??? lol I am only allowing it here for a small space of time and then it is "disappearing". Crazy how many extra calories the average American takes in from now through the holiday season! Okay, off my rant, haha

I do have an amazingly yummy-in-your-tummy healthy recipe of granola for you today! It's even boosted with lots of extras that give you energy and so many other things! So check it out (and throw out that candy! haha)

Granola is actually a super simple thing to make....

DIY Poodle Skirt; Cutting fabric with your Silhouette Tutorial

#poodleskirttutorial #50shalloweencostume #silhouetteportrait #cuttingfabricwithasilhouette #circleskirt #diy

You probably know how much I LOVE and use my Silhouette machine, but I have been dragging my feet to use it to cut fabric. I was nervous about it....don't ask me why? IT WAS SO EASY! And I had the perfect project to try it on.

ONE Minion Inspired Pumpkin and ONE happy girl!

What has been your favorite decorated pumpkin of all time? Well, this is my 9 year old daughters!

My fourth grade daughter got to go on a field trip with her class recently to a pumpkin patch. The following week they got to bring supplies to each decorate their individual pumpkins that they brought home from the field trip. She was soooo excited and knew immediately what she wanted to make!

Initially, I was supposed to be out of town the day they were decorating them. Parents were encouraged to come and help, and it tugged at my heartstings when she came up to me and said, "Mom, are you going to be gone? Because whenever you help me do a craft, it turns out so much better." Awwww...what's a mom to do?

Well, lucky for her, it ended up that my youngest got sick, and that along with other things kept me home and able to go spend the morning with her at school...decorating her Minion Inspired Pumpkin. And she was all smiles that whole day bc of it. (such a good feeling for me too!)

What do you think? Isn't he just awesome?! And really pretty simple to make too!

All you really need to make him is:
yellow spray paint
2 canning lid rings
some old jeans
and a few misc items that are optional (like buttons and pipe cleaners)

We started out by painting him in layers with the yellow spray paint.

Attention to the Nativity Wood Chip Garland!

#nativity #woodchip #garland #lovechristmas

Today's post is based on a previous "From this to that Friday" post I made last year.

Recently I've had a lot of questions about how I made the nativity wood chip garland that I posted last year and I am so flattered! Thanks for all the interest! It is still one of my most favorite projects and inspirations to date! Love the natural wood look with the nativity. 

(I posted it on the blog here last year if you want to check out the original post.)

15 minute DIY Festive {Pumpkin (Jack-o-lantern)} tshirt Tutorial

Do you have 15 minutes? at any point in the day? How about some bleach? a tshirt? and just one of these three items? paper, contact paper (or adhesive backed vinyl), or wax paper? If you do, you have everything you need to make a fun festive tshirt!

HUGE Spook-tacular SIlhouette Gift Basket Giveaway

Today's the day! 

Happy Happy Wednesday!!! {Insert happy dance here!}

It's the BIG giveaway today! I'm excited to be part of histing this great Silhouette giveaway today of close to $300 worth of Silhouette products! It's huge! You can win the best of the best items and the newest!! and just in time to play with them for the holiday season!!
You're gonna love it!!!

I'm sure you have seen how VERY much that I use my Silhouette! I seriously use it almost daily. (Well, I MAY be a little addicted, I admit, but I LOVE it! In fact, I even used it to cut fabric this past week and became even MORE in love with it! {if that was even possible!} lol

I have used it the past couple of years with my son's Minecraft obsession based costumes. lol (Such a simple costume really, a few boxes and lots and lots of little green squares...throw in some adhesive and wala!)



Then the following year, he had a zombie character we did:

Feature a Fellow Blogger: nelliebellie's Individual Cupcake holder

I'm excited to get to share a fellow blogger's adorable genius with you today! I have to say that I love finding new finds and sharing them, bc 1) We all can use more ideas, right? and 2) We all can use a little love and a pat on the back, so I love sharing the real sources behind what I find too! 

It's a win! Win!

Today I found the cutest thing ever! It's almost like an edible snowglobe. haha SO cute and looks so yummy too! And even better, I bet anyone can make this without too much trouble! What's not to love?!

You can see it over on NellieBellie here. She's even got a tutorial included among other fun ideas, so head on over there and let her know what a creative genius she is!

Butterfly Kisses and Ladybug hugs...Sleep tight little one.

#repurpose #upcycle #diy #wordart #butterflykisses #createitgo

Happy Monday!!! I have to say I am loving this fall weather and the colors that we have here in NWA. I even took a quick shot of the tree in our front yard this am. LOVE it! 

Makes my heart happy! And ready for the week ahead!

Do you have a favorite bedtime routine with your little ones? I used to always say the "Later Alligator! and "In awhile Crocodile" when my boys were little. I have also loved this quote for years and am so excited to have it ready to put up in my little ones bedroom now!

"With a butterfly kiss and a ladybug hug, sleep tight little one, like a bug in a rug!"

I found this sample of flooring at a local little thrift shop and thought it would be a great backdrop for something. I love the natural light wood look and just wanted to add a little bit of soft color to it. 

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Cookies with a healthy twist!

I love From this to that Fridays! Love seeing how you can make one thing into another!

Today is a first in that I am doing this with a recipe!

First I have to say that I LOVE the original recipe! I grew up eating this recipe of snickerdoodle cookies and they are sooooo good! BUT as I have grown older, and as we have learned of some of my husband's hidden food allergies...AND have tried to eat clean and more healthy...I avoid white refined flours and sugars the majority of the time now. So...I set out to see how I could adapt this yummy original recipe.

Fall Front Porch Fun {with a DIY bench}

I LOVE this time of year! I think I have the MOST decorations for it...well, I can't decide between Christmas and fall, but I love it! Love the colors and the crisp mornings and evenings. Love the smell of wassail cooking on my stove top and love all things with pumpkin! Yum!

Well, today I get to share with you my own little touch of fall fun, 

Last year I did a mini pumpkin patch out front and while I loved it!!!...at the same time, this year I wanted something different too. I wanted to do something more to my front porch area and add a splash of color without painting the front door. I also wanted something that could handle the wet weather. I've been working on different parts of everything in this pic for over a month now. And finally...I think I have it all together! And I love it! In fact, I may have to hang out there all day! haha

I wanted a bench, but it needed to be semi-skinny...not too deep, and these two items worked great to repurpose into a fun front porch bench! AND they cost me NOTHING!

to this!!!

Yes, I am in love with it! AND I absolutely love love love! putting just a bit more charm on it with this quote: 

"Sitting next to you doing absolutely nothing, 

means everything to me."

Did you notice my super cool post (sign holder) up in the corner too? I have been trying to get this puppy done for months and it finally is up. LOVE it! So...Of course, I had to make a couple different signs to change the color up a bit here and there as well.

And with minimal changes, here and there, I can change it up easily for Thanksgiving as well!

Then, I just flipped that pumpkin around and did the backside with another fun saying.

I'll be posting more on how I made the post sign hanger soon and will even do a DIY on how to make one yourself! What is your favorite time of year to decorate for? And what would you hang on the post sign holder? I'm working on some favorite college football fun to add as well. (Gig 'Em Aggies!)

Happy Fall! And check back tomorrow for one of my favorite kind of posts. From this to that Friday! (except this time it's with a recipe that I "healthified"!)

Best Healthy Homemade DIY Salad Dressing!

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time finding a healthy salad dressing for my salads. They all seem to have soy in them or sugar or some other ingredient or two I am trying to avoid. I want it clean! So, I played around last week a bit and absolutely loved what I came up with! AND it's only 3 ingredients and easy as pie too!

Ingredients:

Spicy brown mustard (mine was only 5 calories)

Healthy oil of your choice (I used avacado, but olive oil or even coconut oil would work)

and

honey

You can add amounts to your own taste, but I did:

Aprox 2 T mustard, aprox 1-2 tsp oil, and aprox 1-2 tsp honey and mixed in a small bowl together with a fork.

Yep, that's it folks! So easy, so good and has just a little "bite "to it.

 It was scrumptious on my spiralized (raw) zucchini chicken and tomato salad. Remember the KISS method!  It works great when eating clean. lol What's your favorite dressing you use? I'd love to hear of more recipes when eating clean. Have a delicious day!

Disney Junior Friends Celebrate together!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, and it's advertiser. 

All opinions belong to Create it. Go! and are mine alone.
#JuniorCelebrates #CollectiveBias

Happy Monday everyone! It's T minus 18 days until Halloween! Eek! Are you ready yet? We almost are!!!

We ran over to our local "Mary Poppins" store, Walmart, the other day because just like Mary Poppins bag, that's where you can find anything and everything, right? haha We went there with (well, of course a grocery list!) and one other thing in mind this time though; to check out their Halloween costumes and other Halloween Ideas this year! I had two excited little girls with me, that were chomping at the bit, as I did my regular shopping. Then we finally came to the shopping they were waiting for!

Needless to say, we came home some HUGE smiles, and with some Disney Junior Friends of ours, a Doc McStuffins costume AND Minnie Mouse costume so that we can celebrate as friends do best...together!

They were so excited and could NOT wait until Halloween to get to wear their new costumes, so of course I let them play in them! How could I not?! They were in love immediately and wanted to do something fun! Well, if you know me, I was all over that! haha So we had some pre-Halloween fun days! Because, why not?

We decorated some of our Halloween candy to match the girls Disney Junior Kids Halloween costumes. SO easy too with Minnie Mouse! All you need is three circles and a bow to top a lollipop or candy stick with! Wala!

Cute cute idea for a Halloween Party Theme too! And easy peasy! Throw it all in a Disney Junior Minnie Mouse cup with some more treats and it's even better! 

Lovin' it! And the girls certainly did too!

Then we made snack time a lot of fun one day by making these fun little bears out of bread dough. Each of the girls would get several balls of dough of various sizes and I helped them put them together to make a bear. Doc mcStuffins was loving this everyday fun! Of course, she had to doctor up the bear a bit first. haha  I'd say she had fun though, wouldn't you?

My three year old even wore her Doc McStuffins costume to the doctor one day. (Of course her lamb had to come along as well.) She has also made sure to check out our dog's health! I have to say I love watching her play Doc with this adorable costume!

So, now they're just wearing them daily...waiting for Halloween and having so much fun in the meantime. And me...I just smile and love it!

What are your kids going to be for Halloween? Do they love Disney Junior as much as mine do? And do you ever dress up with them? I love hearing your comments. Thanks for stopping by! Come back again and Happy Halloween!

Meet This Mormon

I'm excited to be part of this huge group of bloggers today!

We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints otherwise known as "The Mormons". We are proud of this part of who we are! We are excited to team up with over 65+ of us strong... to extend an invitation to see a film. A film entitled "Meet The Mormons". This film is not meant to be an "in your face" - you must join our church film. It is simply designed and produced to uplift and inspire you through six stories of those of our faith who have followed promptings to follow Christ more fully in their lives. We hope you take the opportunity to enjoy this film. We hope your hearts are made light as you feel the goodness that comes from following our Christ and Savior. All proceeds from the film will be donated to The American Red Cross. So not only will you be uplifted and inspired, your money will be going to an amazing charity!!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Y8Jalsf54[/embed] We also would like to take a moment and share our personal testimonies, stories of our own personal conversions, and our own stories of how following our Savior, Jesus Christ has changed our lives. The light of the gospel of Jesus Christ offers a joy and hope that only following him can provide. We hope as you click through and read our stories and testimonies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, you will feel uplifted and encouraged. We are by you! We love connecting with our readers, that is why many of us do what we do! Please be kind and considerate in your comments. It takes great bravery for us to open our hearts and our mouths to share with you such a tender and personal part of who we are. We share because we feel strongly the need to share the peace and the hope that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Adrienne | Free Time Frolics , Camille | Chicken Scratch n' Sniff , Natalie & Rebekah | House of Sprinkles , Kathleen| Fearlessly Creative Moms

Emily | The Benson Street , Staci | The Potter's Place, Alyssa | Alyssa.Marie , Kristen | Capturing Joy , Aly | Entirely Eventful Day

Katie | Clarks Condensed, Larissa | Just Another Day In Paradise , Camille | My Mommy Style , Candice | She's Crafty

Anita | Live Like You Are Rich, Landee | Landee Lu , Tara & Devin | Salt & Pepper Moms , Mallory & Savannah | Classy Clutter Kelli & Kristi| Lolly Jane

McKenzie | Girl Loves Glam , Pam & Lisa | Over The Big Moon , Melanie | Forty Eighteen , Sky | Capital B Adell | Baked in Arizona

Andie | Maybe I Will , Shatzi | Love and Laundry , Robyn | Create it Go , Rachel | R & R Workshop

Tiffany | Feel Great In 8 , Katelyn | What Up Fagens? , Brittany | BrittanyBullen , Ginger | Ginger Snap Crafts , Stephanie | Crafting In The Rain

Chelsey | Cee Me Be , Amber | Crazy Little Projects , Kallie | Smitten By, Elyse, Kristen, Lauren, Steph, Kendra & Camille | Six Sisters Stuff Annette | Tips From A Typical Mom

Amberly | Life With Amberly & Joe , Taralyn | Keep Moving Forward With Me , Jessica | What Does The Cox Say? , Lisa | Mabey She Made It , Kiki | Kiki & Company

Kierste | Simply Kierste , Tayler | The Morrell Tale, Jennifer | My Daylights , Cambria | Live To Be Inspired, Danielle | Today's The Best Day

Amber | Dessert Now Dinner Later, Natalie | The Creative Mom, Bobbie | A Vision To Remember , Becky | Babes In Hairland

Lisa | Pebbles & Pigtails , Mandy | Sugar Bee Crafts , Krista | Reclaim, Renew, Remodel , Wendy | Musings, Miracles, and Mayhem

Nat & Holly | My Sister's Suitcase, Britni| Play.Party.Pin , Montserrat | Cranial Hiccups , Heidi | A Lively Hope , Ashley & Meegan | Flats to Flip Flops

Alexis | We Like to Learn As We Go, Amy | The English Geek , Mariel | Or So She Says Carriann | Oh Sweet Basil

Kirtley | The Gist of It | Aubrey | Dreaming of Someday, Natalie| The Messanos, Angela | Handmade In The Heartland

What an amazing group of talented, funny, witty, courageous, and uplifting bloggers! And what do we all have in common. Our faith.

I want to share a little bit about myself and my family and our beliefs in our Savior, Jesus Christ with you today. Again, this isn't always easy and is something that means the world to me. I truly believe that there is beauty in agency and in differences. I respect other's choice of their beliefs, even when they differ from mine. We can all learn from each other. I ask that you be respectful of mine as well.

#MeetthisMormon

I grew up in Idaho mainly, until high school when my family moved to Texas. I grew up in an active LDS family (LDS means Latter Day Saint or belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). My parents were always very busy helping in church, and with 7 children, you can imagine how our home was. Busy? Yes. Full? Yes. But also full of love and full of the Spirit of Christ and teachings of him. My home/family and my faith/church, I learned, were the two things that were constant in my life. And I came to truly appreciate those even more when we moved (when I was in high school).

About that time. I learned more about my true personal relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. I learned and gained a testimony of my own, through my own study and prayer, and as I did, my faith increased. I know that Joseph Smith truly did see God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. I studied and learned from the Bible AND the Book of Mormon each year.  I know that there is life after death; that we CAN see and live with our loved ones again. I gained a testimony of the way our church is set up...the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) has set up the church today to follow how Jesus Christ set it up when he was live on the Earth. We have a modern day prophet and 12 apostles. I know that they are called of God and that they speak to us, the word of God. I learned that I could rely on the Lord, and that through His sacrifice FOR ME, and his atoning of MY sins, that I could be forgiven of my own shortcomings and weaknesses. I learned that I could talk to Him anytime I needed and that He would be there listening. I felt of His love and His spirit. 

Sometimes very strongly, other times, softly.

I now have my own family. I have a wonderful husband that serves in the youth program at church with the Young Men as well as being the Boy Scout Scoutmaster in the troop that is associated with our congregation. He is a wonderful example of trying to lead our home, the best he can, to being worthy to go back and live with our Father in Heaven someday. 

I have 5 children that have good hearts and righteous desires. They study and learn for themselves. They help and serve others around them.  They deal with disappointments and trials as do we all, but they learn and become stronger from them. They want to be good and want to be happy. That is what the Lord wants for all of us as well.

I was just thinking yesterday as I was driving home from how truly and deeply I love my children and feel sincerely blessed to be their mother and to have them in my life each day. I learn from them every day.

Do they make mistakes? Yep, you betcha! Do I? Yep! Certainly! Is our life perfect? No way. But I have come to realize...and treasure, that my relationship with each of my family members is what fills me up each day. We love the Lord, and we are thankful for all that we are given, and that is enough. 

We would invite all of you to go to this movie coming out today in theaters "Meet the Mormons". (You can find out which theaters it is playing in and watch the trailer here.)  See what we are like, what we believe, destroy the stereotypical myths that there are about us. We are Christians, who love the Lord and want to do His will. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Phillipians 4:13. 

If you have any questions or want to know more about the "Mormons", you can find more here as well. If you would like to receive a Book of Mormon, you can also request one there OR you can request one from me and my family will send you one with our personal testimonies in it. Hope you get out and get to enjoy the movie "Meet the Mormons".

#meetthismormon #meetthesemormons

An InLinkz Link-up

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Year Round Fun with School Supplies

Remember those school supplies I have been working on?

Well, I don't know about you, but the back-to-school rush is C.RAZY! And I have absolutely no extra time trying to make time for anything "extra". But...give it a couple weeks, and I get to have a bit more fun! AND...give your kids a couple weeks (or months for you lucky ones out there) ;) and school isn't quite as exciting as when they first started back. SO...it's the perfect time to make those school supplies (that they already have) a bit more fun!

So, that's exactly what I did! I took my son's folders and notebooks, my preschoolers' and 9 year old daughter's water bottles, those pencil cases they all have, "trapper keepers", anything I could get ahold of...(well, not really haha) and I snazzied them up a bit!

What kid doesn't love Minecraft? From a Creeper to and Endermen!

Think this next one will work for motivation? haha Maybe not, But it's fun!

Love knowing exactly which cup is my little ones at preschool! And if they can't read, they definitely recognize the picture!

And who doesn't like their notebooks or trapper keepers all dolled up?! My 9 year old daughter was absolutely thrilled with this one!

And let me tell you, I had all smiles as they took them back to school (again).

What do you do to make your kids' days better at school? Notes in their lunches? Reading the Kissing Hand?  Anything you do, no matter how little, can make their day! Just like they make mine with their little drawings and notes they give me. :)