How can we??

Happy Valentine's Day!

Because it is a day of love, I'm rockin' Michael Bolton on repeat

ALL DAY LONG.

I know you wish you were with me :o)

xoxo

Shanterest: Valentine's Day Edition

Because the good 'ol people I work for resemble the front side of a horse walking backwards, I no longer get to browse through Pinterest on my breaks.  I have every intention of getting on in the evenings, but I am the busiest person in Indiana these days.  No sarcasm in that last statement at all.  You'll be glad to know that I pulled every last piece of crap useful, totally worth saving, treasure out from underneath the basement steps and am now in the process of organizing said crap treasure.  I'll post on that later.  Right now, we have some business to tend to.  It's what I like to call Shanterest!  If I was able to pin, this is what would be hitting my boards for Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Edition



BOARD: For the Kiddos

Printable Valentine Crown from Skip to my Lou

BOARD: Gifts

Oven Mitt Treat Gift from The East Carolinian

I originally got this idea from my friend, Melissa.  Thanks for such a neat idea, Melissa!!

BOARD: Holidays

Butterfly Card from Disney FamilyFun

BOARD: Food to Try

Cupid's Cupcakes from Disney FamilyFun

BOARD: Fashion

scarlet by htotheb featuring a heart necklace

Scarlet from htotheb via Polyvore

Adoily-able Valentine's Day T-shirt

We got our February issue of Disney FamilyFun in the mail last week.  As soon as I saw the cover, I knew I would have to make these shirts for the girls!  The instructions I used, provided by Disney FamilyFun, are available on their website. 

I added an additional step to Taylor's shirt.  I couldn't find a pink long-sleeve T in her size, so I had to get a short-sleeve shirt for her.  No prob!  I just added some sleeves!

Waffle-Sleeve Layered T-Shirt

Supplies

Child's T-shirt

Adult Waffle T

Paper Doily

T-shirt Paint

Sponge Brush

Stick with me on this one... I kind of did it as I went with no instructions.  First, measure the sleeves of a shirt that fits your child well.  Then, subtract the length of the sleeve on the t-shirt.  This is how long you want your waffle sleeves.

Don't worry about cutting extra length.  You'll have enough with this next step.  I forgot to subtract the length of the t-shirt sleeve at first so Taylor's sleeves were about 3-4 inches too long.  If you forget, no biggie.  You can trim them later.

Next, you'll need to cut the back of the cuff off.  We are going to make a smaller cuff and only want one layer of fabric to work with.  Does that make sense?  You know how a cuff is folded over?  Cut the back part off.

Next, lay a child-size sleeve on top of the waffle sleeve.  Cut the seam off of the waffle sleeve.  Leave about a quarter-inch for your new seam.

Now, open the sleeve to the back (inside) side.  Turn the cuff up and pin.

Sew in place, creating a new, shorter cuff.

Next, fold the sleeve with the inside facing out.  Match up the cut sides and pin in place.

Sew the sides together, about ¼ inch from the edge.

Then, serge if you have one.  If not, just zig-zag!

Trim the extra off, as close to the zig-zag as you can.

Turn the sleeves right-side out and attach them to the t-shirt sleeves, trimming off any extra.

Now, on to the fun part :o)

Be sure to put a layer of wax paper or shiny newspaper inside your shirt. Using regular newsprint will cause it to stick to your shirt... not that I would know or anything...

Get a couple of paper doilies and lay them onto the t-shirt.  Disney FamilyFun suggests putting a little glue (glue stick or spray adhesive) on the back.  I didn't.  I was just extra careful not to move them.

 

Then, very carefully dab the paint onto the doily in an up-down motion.  DO NOT brush the paint.

Use a light touch.  You can always go back over the pattern.  Be careful not to get too much paint on your sponge because it will seep under the doily.

Lift the doily and admire your work!

Because my pattern left space for it, I added i [love] u and be mine.

Since my shirt was longer, I put three hearts on it.

Cutie patooties!!

This took me about an hour.  The stencil part was fast... about 10 minutes per shirt.  I got my doilies at Kroger.  Jaden's and my shirt came from Target and Taylor's is from Hobby Lobby.  The waffle T came from Mike's closet :o)

I'm sharing the love with my favorite linky parties!

It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Peanut Butter Jelly Cookies

Ingredients

½ cup butter or margarine

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup white sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

First, get two little cuties to help you!

Next, cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; gradually stir into the peanut butter mixture. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375º F. Make small balls of dough. Flatten with spatula. Cut with cookie cutter.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just set. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

Then, spread a layer of strawberry icing on one cookie. Top with another cookie to make a sandwich.

Then, we decorated ours with a little chocolate icing message for Valentine's Day. We put these in our treat tents along with a hug and a kiss :o)

Enjoy!  Oh, in case you are craving a little more peanut butter jelly time...

I'm linking this to my favorite linky parties this week!

Happy Valentine's Day! ...and Project Life: Week 6

Project Life: Week 6

She did it! Jaden worked hard and got her Jessie doll!

Taylor loves to watch movies in her shopping cart :o)

Jaden was extra good one night and got to stay up later to play a game!

My little love bugs <3

Riding on the upper level of the carousel.

Enjoying some "quiet" reading time at Barnes & Noble.

And now for the Valentine's Day celebrations!  Mike is taking me out to dinner tonight so we celebrated with the girls on Saturday.

Jaden got a new Pillow Pet...

...and the Tangled soundtrack!

Taylor got a Pop On Pals amusement park!

Then, they had a heart-shaped grilled cheese sandwich for lunch.

Surprisingly, Jaden actually ate it!

After riding the carousel, the girls played in the cars.  Jaden found her valentine :o)

Then we went to Blondie's to have some chocolate chip cookies!

You can't go to the mall without throwing pennies into the fountain.

Last night, Jaden signed all of her valentines for her friends.

She did an awesome job!  I wrote her name on a white board to show her how. 
She caught on very quickly!

Happy Valentine's Day!