Archives for 2014

The Party Bunch Link Party // no. 30

1 · May 23, 2014 · 6 Comments

Hey there, it’s FRIDAY!! This week is extra special because this week was the last day of school for my kiddos. I LOVE the summer!! I love sleeping in, I love the lazy days with my kiddos… it’s time to unwind and just enjoy each other.

We’ve been having fun planning some fun ideas for the summer and buy the looks of last week’s party so have you guys. Here are some of the fun things that caught our eye this week…

Amy from The Idea Room, Mique from 30 Handmade Days, Heather from Whipperberry and Desiree from The 36th Avenue want to thank you for partying with us… You guys are the best!

Here are some of our favorites!

Heather’s Favorite

Printable Mason Jar Recipe Cards from
I Should Be Mopping the Floor.

These cards are absolutely adorable!

Mique’s Favorite

Easy Cocktail Napkin Tassels from My 3 Monsters.

Super cute tassels that would make a party.

Amy’s Favorite

Organizing a Camping Kitchen from Echoes of Laughter.

What a cool post for camping this summer!

Desiree’s Favorite

Twisted Half Up from Ma Nouvelle Mode.

This is so pretty and simple. Perfect for summer!

As always thank you for so may fabulous projects and recipes!

We hope you take a minute and button up here!

Also we want to invite you to click here and follow

The Party Bunch Favorites on Pinterest.

We are featuring more of our favorite projects and recipes from the link party on this board!

Now it is time to party!

TPB Party Bunch Link Up... Every Friday to Sunday link up your projects over at theidearoom.net , thirtyhandmadedays.com , whipperberry.com or the36thavenue.com Four bloggers = ONE BIG PARTY! We can't wait to see your projects!

Here are a few things to remember before you link up!

Please make sure to share the love and grab a button here to let your readers know that you linked up with us!
By linking up with The Party Bunch, you are giving permission to any of us to feature your projects and recipes on our social media with a link back to you. Thanks!

Bing in the Classroom

0 · May 22, 2014 · Leave a Comment

This post was created in partnership with Bing. // I’m still in awe sometimes when it comes to the internet. The unfathomable amount of information that is available just at the click of your mouse is mind boggling! I’m mean really… if you were born before or while Ronald Regan was in office, you saw Top Gun in the movie theaters you also remember research projects being a MUCH BIGGER DEAL than they are today!! The vast amounts of amazing information at our finger tips is unprecedented. With that kind of power comes great responsibility!

I know when I sit down with my kiddos while they are working on the internet I cringe a little. When my daughter Emily was just learning how to spell her name, she typed her name into a web search and I was shocked as to what appeared on our screen. It was just a simple search on her name, that should be safe, right? Nope… All kinds of porn images smacked us in the face. She was FOUR!!

It was a huge wake-up call for me. From that point I have been very vigilant when it comes to my kiddos and the internet. Even if they are searching for simple age appropriate things, sometimes the ads that bombard them aren’t the best. I know that when I am at home with them I can monitor their internet usage, but what about when they are at school. One teacher cannot sit and look over the shoulder of 20-30 kiddos every single time they are using the internet at school monitoring the content that they are viewing. That is why the folks at Bing have created Bing in the Classroom.

Bing has created a safe, ad-free space for our children to explore in. Think about all of the wonderful place you can go and see now without even having to leave the classroom!

We can help Bing reach even more kiddos. Last month I told you about the Bing Rewards Program, where you can earn points every single time you do a Bing search, well when you sign up for Bing Rewards you can choose to donate your Bing Rewards to your local school to help provide Surface Tablets in the classroom. This is a fabulous program that will help our kiddos discover all the amazing things the world has to offer with tablets in the classroom that are free of ads, with strict adult content filters and enhanced privacy protection. All you have to do is search away on Bing!! It’s a win/win so Sign up for Bing Rewards! You can also show your support for Show support for #adfreesearch for our kiddos!

5 Ingredient Barbecue Chicken Pizza

0 · May 20, 2014 ·

This post brought to you by KC Masterpiece® // I am a BBQ girl through and through. As a kid, I could not wait for grilling season to start! I’ve been known to grill through all kinds of weather, snow be darned (my mom reads this, gotta keep it PG.)

Even as a kiddo, I remember how important the sauce was. For years my Dad (he’s the primary griller in the house) would ALWAYS use KC Masterpiece®, always. My mom would stock-up and buy like 15,000 of them at a time (ok, maybe 6) and the panic button would be activated when we opened the last bottle. Yes, the sauce was that important in our house.

The same holds true for my house. I would have to say that there are very few products that I can claim brand loyalty for three decades and barbecue sauce is one of them, the other being my ketchup, but that another story. KC Masterpiece® has always been our go-to. Did you know that KC Masterpiece® was created by Dr. Rich Davis from Kansas City back in 1978. He created it for the first ever American Royal Barbecue Sauce Competition and won. The folks at KC Masterpiece® are celebrating a big anniversary this year… 35 years!!

To celebrate they have released a limited edition 35th Anniversary Sauce that is reminiscent of the original competition recipe from 1978. It’s lovely!

When the folks at KC Masterpiece® asked me to come up with a recipe for the special sauce, I knew instantly what I had to share. Our family’s favorite go-to dinner… Barbecue Chicken Pizza.

This recipe is so easy, it only has FIVE ingredients and it takes about FIVE minutes to pull together.

It’s one of those meals that I pull out several times a month on those busy nights when you need something quick, but still tasty. It’s also my go-to meal when I’m taking a meal to a family who is in need of a dinner. You know when Mom just had a baby or is sick. I make up a couple of these beauties in a snap, I take them over assembled but not baked. They can bake them when they are ready, they can even toss them in the freezer if they aren’t in immediate need. It’s PERFECT!

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

2 store bought already baked pizza crust

1 1/4 cups of KC Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce

1 store bought rotisserie chicken

1/2 of a large red onion sliced thin

3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Yep, I told you it’s embarrassingly easy. I don’t even prepare the chicken. The secret is in the sauce. Seriously, I’ve made this meal at least 100 times and I have experimented with different sauces and it truly is the KC Masterpiece® sauce that makes it amazing.

I place the store bought pizza crust on a baking sheet. Side note... You can use store bought crust, make your own crust, use pita bread, biscuit dough, really anything for the crust. Our family likes thin crust pizza, so I buy the super thin store bought crust. Then I pour about 3/4 a cup of sauce on the crust and spread it all over.

Then I shred the chicken and place a heavy layer of chicken all over the crust. Another side note… On those nights when I’m not in that big of a rush, I make my own chicken by either roasting my own, boiling a couple of chicken breasts or even grilling them. It’s really whatever you like. I would have to say that 75% of the time I use the tasty store bought rotisserie chicken.

Then I add a layer of red onion… This is also a very important layer. Don’t skimp on the onion. This is what makes this pizza aaaamazing!

Next comes the cheese…

That’s it… Place it in a 400˚ oven for 12-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and has lightly browned. You could even toss it on a grill if you don’t want to heat up your kitchen.

Serve with some grilled corn or a nice tossed salad and you have a wonderful easy to prepare dinner that literally took minutes to make and is a real crowd pleaser thanks to KC Masterpiece® and their amazing sauce! For more recipe ideas, you can visit KC Masterpiece® on Facebook or Twitter for all kinds of BBQ inspiration.

KC Masterpiece® barbecue sauce has been delivering authentic barbecue taste and creating culinary masterpieces for 35 years. For more recipe ideas, tips and tricks visit www.KCMasterpiece.com.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KC Masterpiece®. The opinions and text are all mine.

DIY Painted Tray Set

1 · May 19, 2014 · 4 Comments

+ This DIY Painted Tray Set post brought to you by the lovely folks at Elmer’s +

With the spring in full swing and summer fast approaching, my creative spirit has started longing for all things beach. The nautical trend is one that I whole heartedly adopt. I love the colors, the simplicity, the way that it takes me back to slow days on the beach with my family and especially my sweetheart. Yea, I’m loving it!

Last month I had the chance to meet a couple of the lovely ladies that work at Elmer’s while I was attending SNAP. Now, I’ve worked with Elmer’s products for years and I’m on the Elmer’s Craft It Crew this year and while hanging out in their booth at SNAP, I started to realize the potential of a product that has kind of hung out in the background of the Elmer’s family of products… Their line of Painters Markers!

Painters Markers are acrylic paint markers that come in fine, medium or chisel tips. They are easy to use and virtually mess-free. The are permanent on most surfaces and can be used on pretty much any type of surface. Wood, glass, ceramic, tera cotta, plastic, metal, foam board & even fabric. They are streak-free, non-toxic & acid-free. Yea, they ROCK!!

Recently, I found a fun wood and metal serving tray at Target and thought it would look great with the addition of some coral to give it a bit of a nautical theme. I decided to take these Elmer’s Painters Markers for a spin to see how well they worked!

First, I found a coral image that I like and cut the image out on Stencil Vinyl from Silhouette on my CAMEO.

Then I colored in the image with the Elmer’s Painters Marker in Sea Mist Brume.

Tip… I did learn that you need to shake it up really well and draw on another piece a paper for a little bit in order to get the color to regulate.

Once I was finished coloring it in, I removed the stencil and then outlined it with the with Gold Ore Painter’s Marker which is a FABULOUS metallic marker. I LOVE IT!!

The acrylic paint from the markers dries so fast and the ease of being able to “paint” with acrylic paint in marker form just makes my day. No more brushes, and all the mess that comes along with painting. I decided my tray needed some matching glasses to complete the look so I took some jar glasses that I also found at Target, and using the same stencil process, stenciled a gold anchor onto the glass.

The gold paint goes onto the glass so smooth and looks fabulous.

Tip… I did learn that you need to remove the stencil while the paint is still wet, or you may pull some of the dried paint off when removing the stencil.

I even painted the silver metal lids that I have for my jar glasses gold with the Painter’s Markers. It was super slick!!

Now, I have a stylish nautical display piece for my house or I can make a few more glasses and I have a fun serving set for a party! I LOVE it!!

The cool thing is that it really only took a few minutes to make all of these creations, less than an hour for sure and the paint was dry within minutes.

As for the anchor glasses… I’m not sure how this paint will react to a trip though the dishwasher and I do think that it could scratch off easily so I would hand wash for sure. I plan on using them mostly for display and not really for everyday use. If you would like to use them everyday I would try to find some type of sealant to make the gold image a little more permanent.

Now, that I’ve hopefully inspired you… What would you like to paint with Elmer’s Painters Markers?

Disclaimer // I am a member of the 2014 Elmer’s Craft It Crew and was compensation for my time while preparing this post. However, all thoughts, idea and opinions are my very own!

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