Crafts

A Heart So Broken by Christene Houston // GIVEAWAY

0 · Jan 7, 2013 · 1 Comment

A Heart So Broken Giveaway // I am over the moon and tickled pink all at the same time today! My sweet friend Christene Houston has published her first novel and I'm so exited to introduce you guys to her and her fabulous book. It's true… Christene is one of my dearest friends, but I kid you not, I would promote this book even if she were a stranger on the street. It's a fabulous fun read for these cold months while we are hibernating in our little nests.

Here is a little more about Christene and her book in her own words…

It’s one of those rare Vegas days when the rain is falling and everything feels cozy and warm inside. A fire is going in the fireplace, logs crackling, flames snapping, and I’m doing one of my favorite cold day things. I’m curled up with a book, enjoying the feeling of being cocooned away from the wintery blast. Do you love reading like I do? When we knew we would be losing Heather to Nebraska, we did what any good friends would do. We stockpiled our favorite books for such a cherished friend and sent her into negative degree weather knowing she could cuddle up with some warm Vegas love whenever she liked. Heather and I are big fans of this lovely pastime, though we enjoy different paths in both our general taste and methods of consumption. I’m a hands on, leafing-through-the-pages kind of girl, while Heather enjoys all mediums, with a special affection for audiobooks. Heather often reaches for gritty, true to life books while my feet are most often planted in the blossoms of romantic fiction. It’s no big shock that when I decided to follow my passion for writing, it took me in just that direction. After an incredible journey, my debut novel, A Heart So Broken, is finally on cyber-shelves nationwide, available through both Amazon and BN.com. I am so thrilled to see my cover popping up in the most beautiful places!

A Heart So Broken is the story of 17-year-old Jenna Tucker who suddenly loses her father during his service in Iraq. Without his stabilizing influence, Jenna’s world tips out of control. She soon finds herself exiled to tiny West Junction for the summer, holding fast to her misery despite the tender care of her Aunt Lilly. When a vivid dream revives her spirits, Jenna is surprised to find handsome Cooper Turnage at every turn. The electric attraction between them is undeniable, but Cooper harbors a secret that will reopen tender wounds and force Jenna to decide between the comfort of bitterness and a chance to heal at last a heart so broken.

WhipperBerry is giving away a signed copy of A Heart So Broken to one fabulous reader and three digital copies of the book to three more readers!! The reviews have been stunning, and I can’t wait to add yours to the list. Follow the direction in the Rafflecopter box below to enter the giveaway…

A Heart So Broken Giveaway

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If you can’t wait for your copy to arrive, get A Heart So Broken today at Christenehouston.com in all e-book formats. Light your favorite candle, tuck your toes under that fleecy blanket and let the snow fall while you spend the summer with Jenna Tucker. I hope you enjoy her adventure as much as I have.

LDS Primary Classroom Signs

35 · Jan 6, 2013 · 28 Comments

LDS Primary Classroom Signs // My friends, I’m back! I had a lovely holiday with my little family and enjoyed just spending some quite time with my kiddos while they were on vacation. We slept in, snuggled, shopped and worked on little projects together. A couple of them I will be sharing here in the next couple of days. First, I’ve had a little request… Saturday night I was sharing some of my projects I was working on for my church assignement on Instagram. A few of my friends asked if I would share some Primary classroom signs that I had created for our new classroom assignments at church here, and I am happy to share! I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) and our children’s program at church is called Primary. For those of you who are members of the church you will recognize the class names…

How to Use the Door Signs

For our Primary, I printed a set of signs on cardstock and took them to have them laminated. The lamination is the beauty of the sign. You use a dry erase marker to list the teacher and classmembers on the sign. Any changes are super easy to make with just a quick addition with the dry erase marker. I also added some magnets to the back of the sign to easily attach them to our door frames at our building. Ours are metal, so the magnets work like a charm. You will have to check on your own building to see what application process will work the best. Below you will find the files to download for your own Primary…

Printable Primary Door Signs

Click HERE to download the Primary Door Signs

I have also used a great printable from the lovely ladies at Eighteen25… It’s a great Articles of Faith printable punch card to help the kiddos learn their Articles of Faith.

img source // articles of faith punch card from eighteen25

Click on the link above to visit their site and download the punch card. Isn’t it so much fun to help each other out with great ideas? What other fun ideas do you have for your Primary classes this year? Leave a link in the comments so that we can all check them out!

Valentine’s Day Red Velvet Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup // Recipe

24 · Jan 2, 2013 · 22 Comments

Red Velvet Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup // While I'm taking a little break with the family for our holiday vacation, I thought I would share an older post from a few years back. A fun Valentine's Day breakfast idea, Red Velvet Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup.

Serve up a romantic breakfast-in-bed for your Valentine with these decadent pancakes. Simply beautiful, and yet more pleasing to the taste-buds than even the eyes. I know my sweetheart revels in any opportunity to feel just so pampered. How fun it is to celebrate the month of love through the delights of sweet treats.

Red Velvet Pancakes:

1 1/2 C. Buttermilk

4 Eggs

4 Tbsp. Butter, melted

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 Tbsp. Red Food Coloring

2 C. Flour

2 Tbsp. Cocoa

1/3 cup Sugar

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

Buttermilk Syrup:

1 C Butter

1 C Buttermilk

2 C Sugar

2 T Vanilla

1 t Baking Soda

Directions

For the pancakes, mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Melt butter in separate bowl, then add buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and food coloring. Blend well. Pour in dry mixture and beat until smooth.

Pour ½ cup of the whipped batter on a greased skillet. Pan fry on medium heat until browned. Flip over and brown again. Top with desired toppings and serve warm.

(To make a heart shaped pancake (optional), place a heart shaped cookie cutter on the skillet, and pour batter into the cookie cutter. Remove form before flipping.)

Make the syrup by bringing the first three ingredients to a boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda. Stir and Serve.

*Optional toppings include syrup, butter, whipping cream, and shaved chocolate.

Ring in Your New Year with Styled by Tori Spelling

2 · Dec 28, 2012 · 3 Comments

Nothing rings in the New Year better than a little glam! As I was thinking about my New Year’s make over for my Winter White Wreath, I thought some Styled by Tori Spelling goodies would be perfect to dress up my wreath and get her ready for the party!

She dresses up pretty well don’t you think? I created a New Years banner out of paper and some of my Martha Stewart gold glitter. I used my Silhouette Portrait to make the black letters out of paper for the banner.

If you follow me on Instagram you saw my craft fail with the banner… I managed to regroup and came up with something much better than my original idea.

Once the banner was made I pinned a gold 3 layer necklace bottom from the Styled by Tori line onto the wreath with just a couple of straight pins, to dress her up for the celebration. Now she needs a couple of friends to join her for the party.

These are so easy to make. The first one, I just tied a glam dangler onto the candle with a little black ribbon. The other one I used one of the connectors to attach another gold dangler to a fun pendant and then attached it to the candle with a little dab of hot glue. It took five minutes to give these candles a little glam makeover… That’s it! I added a few more items to the group to round out the display…

I made a simple sign for 2013 and used a fabulous frame and mirror, both from Target to round out the collection. I had fun playing with the frame while taking pictures…

ahhhh, I love playing with the camera! What do you have planned for the new year? Any fun projects up your sleeve with the fun Styled by Tori products? I’m already dreaming up ideas for January and can’t wait to share!

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Still Dreaming of Silhouette

0 · Dec 27, 2012 · Leave a Comment

The big day is over and now it's time to get what you really wanted!! It's time for Silhouette's December Promotion…

Click HERE to have access this months Silhouette Portrait and Advent Calendar Special! HURRY, supplies won't last!!

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