baby gift part 1

right after the sad sad sad sandy hook tragedy happened, some crafty peeps got together to sell digital prints on brickyard buffalo to raise money. crafty friend aubry sold one of her prints. i already wanted to buy it so i was way happy. mikael's baby nursery is a cowboy/western theme, and this print was so perfect. i've been waiting to actually deliver the gift so i could post this tutorial.

supplies
mod podge
sponge paint brush
scissors and/or rotary cutter
8x10 wooden frame (buy with a coupon at craft store)
material (i bought 1/4 yard and it was way too much)
i ended up spray painting the frame at the past minute so you need that too

spray paint the frame (or use craft paint if you prefer). the front of the frame will be covered so the color is really only for the inside and sides of frame

measure across the top/bottom and side

use straight edge to cut fabric to appropriate width and length using rotary cutter (or scissors if you prefer0

lay out fabric on the frame to make sure it all fits

use paint brush to spread glue on one area of frame at a time

place fabric over the glue. hurry a little so the glue doesn't dry

once all the fabric is in place, paint another layer of mod podge over the top around the whole thing

let dry

put print in frame. perfectly framed print for a cowboy/western room

if you're as in love with this print as i am, aubry will still sell it to you. email her here

i'll be back in a couple days posting about what i did with some of the leftover fabric.

glory glory hallelujah

chelsea, her kids, and I came to missouri yesterday to visit the fam. we've been looking forward to it for weeks, and I definitely couldn't wait to get out of town. the flights went well, but I had the shortest connection ever...too short for my luggage to make it. after spending all of last night FREAKING OUT, my luggage is finally here. now I can actually enjoy my trip...thank the heavens.

Cute Cookies

Have you ever made homemade oreos? Of course you have. They're like the easiest cookies ever. Here's a little tip to make them so so much cuter. Roll them in sprinkles. Bam...much cuter. You're welcome!

Cakeing 101

a while ago a friend from church (also my visiting teacher and in the relief society presidency) asked celsey and me to do an activity on cake decorating. sounds fun right?!? we decided to do cupcakes and sugar cookies and teach a few different techniques. we way underestimated the amount of frosting we would need, but our 2 days worth of baking seemed to be about right. i don't really know what qualifies me to teach a class since I have never taken one, but i just pretended to know what i was talking about. we had a bit of a mess, but overall i think it went well and people seemed to have fun.

Sock Bun

remember that post about why i will never do a sock bun again?!? i really was planning to never try again. either i have problems or my hair has problems or the sock has problems or something. people swear by the sock bun. i read all about it all over social media. erin sent me this tutorial. i stupidly decided to give it one more try because it's a different kind of sock bun.

this

Source: web.stagram.com via Aubrey on Pinterest

this looks easy enough right. i no lie spent probably a half hour trying to get this to work this morning. it did not work no matter what i tried. i was getting so frustrated. since i have the goal to do my hair differently every day, i worked even harder to get it to work. in the end i took the sock out and it worked ok. it's not my favorite and i probably won't repeat it again anytime soon. the sock bun...well, it is never ever ever happening again..ever!

do you do a sock bun? how in the heck do you make it work? i'm running out of hair ideas. help!

Celebrating Valentine's Day

i am the first to admit, valentine's day isn't my very favorite holiday. maybe it's because i am single, but really i think the whole idea of it is a little silly. i think you should express love all the time because you want to not just because you are obligated to, BUT i love holidays and any and all reasons to celebrate.

one of the parent child classes i teach at work happened to fall right on valentine's day. it is a group to teach parents about sensory processing, and the topic for the day was the tactile system. i was so happy. how perfect. we got right to work planning all kinds of fun valentinesy activities including

a sensory box filled with conversation hearts, pink rice, feathers, and heart shaped toys,

painting with karo syrup and food coloring on a heart (spread a scoop of karo all around, drop a few drops of food coloring and watch it spread, spread more with fingers if you want). we also made stepping stones of various fabric for the kids to walk out of class. such a fun day.

i made these treats for work. i am getting so terrible lately at giving credit, but i saw the tip online somewhere to cut a triangle in the top of a strawberry to make a heart and drizzled white chocolate on top.

i already blogged about the decorations i made and the awesome swap package i got in the mail. even though it's not my most favorite holiday, it really was a lot of fun planning and doing all these fun things with the little tykes and making festive treats.

bloglovin' hop

remember a couple of weeks ago when i posted about bloglovin?!? i haven't really used it much yet, but apparently it is the best way to read blogs. check out this blog hop and find some new blogs to love.

Valentine Garland

a few weeks ago blogger/designer friend Kate posted this tutorial for a valentine's day garland. i thought it was really cute and easy, but since i didn't need a garland, i didn't do anything with it. chelsea mentioned that she needed a garland or banner to go on her mantle. i was already sending a package to the kids and decided at the extreme last minute to throw this thing together. i made it with the supplies i had on hand and thought it turned out pretty cute.

1.trace hearts onto felt with cookie cuttter

2. cut out hearts

3. arrange hearts on rope/string. i used a piece of scrap material as a guide to make them evenly spaced.

4. glue hearts to rope/string. done.

this was seriously so last minute and so easy and fast.

Valentine's Blogger Swap

I had such a good experience with the fall blogger swap so when I saw a signup to do a Valentine's swap, I was really excited. One of my favorite things about blogging is connecting with other bloggers. This swap did not disappoint. I was paired with April from Hansen Love. After exchanging a few emails we both went shopping. I love love love my stuff so much and really who doesn't like to get a package in the mail. April is way fun. Go check out her blog and make a new bloggy friend.

I know...I'm dying about over the clutch too. I got the package when I came home one night last week and felt like I needed to go somewhere immediately to use it.

My nails are currently painted for v day with the pretty pink polish.

Thanks April for the amazing stuff and thanks Alycia and others for hosting.

Churchy Churchy Things

Sometimes (ok more like every random once in a while) I talk about churchy things. I don't know why I don't talk/write about it more often. I'm a pretty churchy person. I go to church every single Sunday. It's kind of a big deal. For some reason, I find myself struggling to talk about it and especially struggling to put churchy things on my blog. It makes no sense really.

When I see other people post about churchy things with confidence, it makes me wish I could be a little more like that.

Starting today I'm changing that. Don't worry...I won't be talking churchy things all the time, but today I am.  Between politics, entertainment, and social media, there's a lot of talk about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons).

I am a Mormon. It's not just a huge part of my life. It is my life. It is the foundation for who I am and everything about me. In an effort to share more of that with you, I am very excited to announce I am participating in the Book of Mormon Blogger project. When I first heard about it, I knew I wanted to participate.

Have you ever wondered why so many of your favorite mommy bloggers are Mormon? Well, many of them have gotten together to answer that question in the form of a packet.

Do you want to know more?  Email me your mailing address 

aubreyzaruba at gmail dot com 

You will get a small packet of thoughts and feelings from the following bloggers as well as a copy of the Book of Mormon. Why the Book of Mormon? Because it is the foundation of our beliefs and another testament of Jesus Christ. In the meantime, check out mormon.org for more information about what it really means to be a Mormon.

myself

Mariel ~ Or So She Says

Becky ~ The Crafting Chicks

Camille ~ Six Sisters Stuff

Leigh Anne ~ Your Homebased Mom

Tausha ~ Sassy Style Redesign

Megan ~ Brassy Apple

Reachel ~ Cardigan Empire

Mandy ~ Sugar Bee Crafts

Caroline ~ Armelle Blog

Carrian ~ Sweet Basil

Melissa ~ 320 Sycamore

Shawn ~ I Wash...You Dry

Becky ~ Babes in Hairland

Shandra ~ Deals to Meals

Kristyn ~ Lil' Luna

Nikkala ~ The Crafting Chicks

Krista ~ Budget Gourmet Mom

Kelli ~ Lolly Jane

Stephanie ~ Somewhat Simple

Mel ~ Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Becky ~ UCreate

Arianne ~ Still Parenting

Emily ~ Is This Really My Life?

Shawni ~ 71 Toes

Nikki ~ Chef in Training

Lindsey ~ The R House

Jamie ~ The Crafting Chicks

Aleisha ~ She Calls Me Mama Leisha

Kirsten ~ The Crafting Chicks 

Melanie ~ Sugardoodle

Kierste ~ Brown Paper Packages

Shelley ~ How Does She? 

Brooke ~ The Crafting Chicks

Ruthie ~ What's Cooking With Ruthie?

If you really want to know more, I hope to hear from you. 

If you're a Mormon blogger and want to participate, email me, and I will put you in touch with the right person.

Quote Plaque

Bonny and I got together last week and made this V day craft. I love love love how it turned out. I can't stop staring at it...for real. It was actually way easier than it looks. Go here for the tutorial. I love it so much I'm considering making one for a giveaway. Would anyone want it? I haven't had a ton of success with giveaways in the past, but I might be up for doing it again. 

Not a Treat

i posted this on instagram as my #fmsphotoaday picture and got some requests for the recipe.

back in the fall i had a ton of apples and wanted to make applesauce in the crockpot. i looked on pinterest for a recipe but didn't want to add sugar. so, i did my own thing.

core, peel, and slice/chop apples (i didn't peel them the first time and the texture was bad)

throw in crockpot and sprinkle with a generous amount of cinammon

cook on low for hours and hours and hours

sorry this is so not specific. i really don't think you can mess it up.

it is more like baked apples than applesauce. i thought about putting it in the blender, but then i remembered i don't like dealing with the blender. if you want a smoother texture, you will have to use the blender.

heat up a bowl of apples in the microwave

add one packet of instant oatmeal (I think this is some variety of apple cinammon Rachael Ray) also (I don't add liquid besides the apples)

slice bananas 

stir

enjoy

this tastes like a treat but it really isn't but it kind of is. let me know if you try it out.

January is Over

glory glory hallelujah the month of january is over. i really don't like january, and i really didn't like it this year. between the most disgusting air you have ever seen, and the crazy amounts of snow, i have been about to lose it with the weather. thank the heavens the past couple of days have been decent.

no sugar january is over. it really wasn't that bad. i am happy it's over, but it was good to reset my body a little and eat a lot healthier.

now that it's february, my goal for the month is to do something different with my hair everyday. i did it last year, and it was ok. for some reason, i am a little afraid this year. can i really come up with 28 different things to do. is there anything i absolutely must do?

i don't want the year to fly by, and i am really trying to stop wishing my life away, but i wouldn't be sad if winter just hurried and got the heck out of here.

bloglovin

i usually just read posts in google reader, but i am thinking about switching to bloglovin. thoughts? i signed up so we'll see if i like it.

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