Free Paint Coupon

Do you have a Benjamin Moore Store nearby?   Like Benjami Moore on Facebook and receive a coupon for a FREE pint of paint.    You can find their Facebook page here.

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Fathers Day Gift Boxes

When I saw these Fathers Day boxes on Craft Gossip,  I knew they would be a great craft to link up here.   If you are looking for something original to wrap dad's gift in, how about making him a one of a kind shirt gift box.   Paper Crave has a free printable template and instructions on how to make  both the bow tie and regular tie version.  You can read more on how to make them at PaperCrave.com here.

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Summer Desserts..

I just received my new All You and was very excited to see some really fun summer desserts.  If you ever have the craving for pie but do not want to make an entire pie,   maybe a mini pie will hit the spot.   This mini pie can be make from pre made pie crust and made in under an hour.   You can see the full recipe  on Myrecipes.com.

If ice cream is more your style,  how about homemade chocolate mint ice cream sandwiches.  They really look good!   You can find that recipe  here on  MyRecipes.com

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End of School Chaos- an UPDATE

We are now down to 11 days..  In the last week we have had an Art show,  our last girl scout meeting, 2 talent show practices, more mileage club and a drs appt. (for child that went to ER last week).     Tomorrow is my last mileage club ever.. (well unless they do it at my daughters next school, which right now they do not do) and Friday is one of our Field days..  Also still  on the agenda,  a possible band concert,  Spring Fling (where I will be in a mom to mom sale), another field day, an end of the year party for 4th, farewell ceremony for 6th,  birthday treats for my summer girls birthday and the talent show.    Now we are off to dance class where we are getting close to recital.     Will be sharing a few posts in a bit.. 

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Turtle Cupcakes

I just saw the cutest turtle cupcakes on the blog Sweetopia.   Not only does she share an amazing recipe for the turtle flavor cupcakes, but gives step by step instructions on how to make the candy turtle toppers.    This recipe looks so good, I want to eat a cupcake  now..   Make sure to check out Sweetopia here

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Seasoned Crescent Rolls

I tried a little experiment today and it worked out perfectly.  If it hadn't worked , you  would not be reading about it on my blog. LOL!

I have a 14 yr old who has a habit of eatting noodles out of a box mix and leaving behind the seasoning.  This is a frustrating habit, but today I figured out a great way to use those leftover seasonings.. 

This is the box  sans noodles that I found in the pantry.     The seasoning left behind was a packet of sun dried tomatoes,  a basil and cheese seasoning packet, and parm cheese.  There was also a packet of cheese sauce that I did not use for this recipe. 

I had a tube of crescents that I needed to use and thought they could taste interesting with the seasoning..  My first step was to add sun-dried tomatoes to half of the crescents.   

I only put them on half of the crescents because I knew of my family members would not be willing to try dried tomatoes.

I then added the basil and cheese seasoning packet and sprinkled some of the parm to all of the crescents. 

I rolled up the crescents and then brushed on some melted butter. I also sprinkled some more parm on top.   At this point my camera ran out of charge and I could not take a picture of the buttered crescents before putting them in the oven.  I followed the directions on the package and baked them at 375 for about 10 mins. 

They came out of the oven a golden brown with parm baked into the roll. 

This is what the inside of one of the crescents with sun dried tomatoes.  We loved the taste of  the seasoned crescents!  It would be pretty easy to duplicate this recipe without using a  box of Macaroni Grill.    You would just need sun-dried tomatoes,  dried basil, and parmesean for a similar outcome.    

Caught ya!  This is my daughter's hand reaching for seconds.  

Because of how much we enjoyed seasoned crescents, I am going to link them up to some wonderful linky party websites.  Make sure to check out my linky party page to check out all the great websites like Today's Creative .

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Jello Cookie Pops

I found these fun and interesting looking cookie pops on the Skip to my Lou     weekly linky party.   The blog    Red Couch Recipes    shows how to use flavored jello in her sugar dough recipe to get very colorful and yummy cookies.   This recipe got some rave reviews so why not give it to try.  You can see the full recipe and tutorial for Red Couch Recipes here.

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Summer Fun Food

Taste of Home has some really cute bug inspired food that would be a fun treat at a summer party.  I love these ladybug apptizers made from cherry tomatoes. You can see how to make them here.

How about these butterfly inspired sandwhiches.   You can see how make these here.

And how cute is this caterpillar cake.  You can see how to make this sweet treat here

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Beading to Beat Autism

As I mentioned  in early April,  my son has a form of Autism called Aspergers.  I just heard about an amazing girl who has raised $300,000 with bead bracelets to help her brother and many other Autistic children.  She has now set a goal of $300,000,000 to build an Autism center.   One way to raise the money is by distributing beading kits to groups and organizations to help raise the money.  We just signed up for our free kit, so we can join the cause.  If you think this is something you would like to help out  with, check out her website Beading to Beat Autism here.   Also watch her You Tube video that explains her fundraising plan, and shows more about the Autism center.  

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Dollar Store Party Finds..

I went to the Dollar Store today to buy a few extra papers.   This weekend there are some really good Smart Source coupons that will mean FREE items when they double at VGs.   While there I noticed they got some new stock in so I went to see what party planning supplies I could find.   

If you are planning a Luau this summer, they have an entire row dedicated to all things luau.   You can find leis,  coconut cups and  lots of fun decor.   

Now is the time to stock up on Memorial Day and 4th of July items for your summer get togethers. 

I loved the red, white, and blue circle placemats.  I will be using them as table accents for centerpieces etc..

I really liked the large clear serving plate and the blue star serving plate.  

There are several new red, white and blue wire ribbons, what will be perfect for summer crafts.

I also found a flag inspired paper lantern.  I am not sure what I will do with it yet, but it could make a nice accent for a 4th of July party.  

I picked up two condiment squeeze bottle packs.  They can be used for multiple uses and not just for picnics.   Squeeze bottles are good for baking with different color frostings and pancake mixes.  They can also be used when crafting. 

I really liked the Its Your Day party bag. 

I found 3pk sauce ramakins..  While you can not bake with them,  they can be used as ice cream dishes or individual serving dishes.  

The cardboard with ballons on it in the front is a cupcake stand.  I am not expecting it it be super sturdy since it was only $1, but will still be fun addition to a summer party. 

I picked up 2 clipboards to make decorative clipboards found here.

Since I already have a lot of luau supplies, I picked up a tiki ice mold.   I thought it would be a fun addition to our other supplies.  

To make the most of Dollar Store party shopping is to plan ahead and buy when you find the item.  If you wait until you need the item,  you might not be able to find it. 

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Vgs Deals

This week, I only went grocery shopping at one store.   A friend and I had a girls night out at the grocery store..  LOL!  One thing nice about shopping on Friday night at a smaller store, is we mostly had the store to ourselves.   It was a fun trip and we found some good deals.

2 Eggo Waffles (new fiber plus) $3.39 regular price.  I used 2  .75 coupons that doubled, final price $1.89 each

5  2 liters of coke on sale for $1 each.. (plus .10 deposit)

Ramen Noodles $2.39 regular price
Paper plates $2.19 regular price

Nine Lives cat food $4.15 regular price.  I used $1 coupon that doubled, final price $2.15

2 Welchs sparkling juice on sale for $3.19.  I used two .75 coupons that doubled, final price $1.69 each

Sunny D on sale for $1

Store Brand syrup on sale for $1

Oke Doke popcorn on sale $2.67

Gator Ade on sale $1.  I used a FREE 32 oz when you buy Gatorade Prime and Gatorade Recover.   Final price $2 for 3. 

Little Debbie new Cloud Cakes $3.09 regular price. I used .75 coupon that doubled, final price $1.69.

3 Oreo Fudge Cremes $2.99 regular price.  I used 3 $1 coupons that doubled, final price .99 each

Store Brand pudding .89

Wheat Thins sticks on sale $2.99. I used $1 coupon that doubled, final price .99

2 Ritz Crackerfuls on sale $2.50.  I used 2 $1 coupons that doubled, final price .50

Red Baron Pasta on sale $6.99 I used $1 coupon that doubled, final price $4.99

Hormel Compleats $2.69 regular price.  I used .75 coupon that doubled, final price $1.09

2 Pasta Roni on sale $1 each.  I used $1 off 2 coupon (from past box!) that doubled, final price FREE

Planters Big Nut Bars on sale $2.50.  I used .75 coupons that doubled, final price $1 each

On the Vine tomatoes on sale .99 a lb

Store brand string cheese $2.99

Bananas .54 a lb

2 Buddig lunch meat regular price $1.79.  I used .55 coupons that were ON THE PACKAGE.  The coupons did not double so final price $1.24

Fresh Express cole slaw on sale $1

Raisinets movie box on sale $1.  I used .50 off 2 coupon that doubled, final price .50 each

Store Brand bread  on sale $1

2 Store Brand bagels on sale $1

Aunt Milles 100% Hearth bread on sale $2.  (I had .55 coupon that was somehow missed, that happens sometimes, it was a small coupon)

Aunt Milles Cinnamon Swirl bread on sale $2

Franks Red Hot sauce regular price $1.35.  I used .50 coupon that doubled, final price .35.

Not picured..  Milk $2.79
Cats Pride litter box kit on sale for $2.99.  I had $1 coupon that doubled, final price .99

Full price todays shopping trip would have been $126.96. 

I used $35.48 in coupons and saved $26.80 in sale.   I paid only $64.59 and saved about 50%

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End of School/ Welcome Summer Ideas

While I do not have time myself to plan an end of the school year party this year, I do hope to do something special on the last day of school.  All 3 of my kids are moving up to a new school in the fall.  Its an end of an era for all of them, which I feel  should be acknowledged.     I really like this Welcome to Summer banner idea I saw on Family Fun.  It's a fun and easy way  to welcome in the summer. 

Pillsbury.com      has some fun and easy end of school recipes to try including one for a crescent dog on a stick.  

How about some summer themed cupcakes from The Cupcake Blog .

I really liked this idea on Family Fun      to give your kids an end of the school year gift to welcome in the summer,  filled with
summer toys and coupons. 

One thing we have done in years past is go to the local Dairy Queen the last day of school.    You could also buy a few containters of ice cream and several toppings and invite your childrens friend over  for a sundae party.    

Whatever you decide to do,  there are many way to say..    WELCOME SUMMER!

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Make your own pinata tutorials

I found this great idea on the  Show and Tell Saturday linky party. Jada Roo Can Do  has a great blog with lots of fun craft ideas, including the how to on making your own rainbow pinata.   I love pinatas, but dont love the price.  I find it hard to pay more than $10 for something that is meant to be smashed to pieces.   I have made a  round sun pinata that is posted in my Luau Party  post, but have not tried to make one  with cardboard.   I really like Jada Roo's  tutorial on how to make this really fun rainbow pinata that is fitting for many different themes.  If youa are interested in trying to make your own pinata, make sure to check out Jada Roo Can Do .

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Dinosaur Party

It's been a few weeks since I have dug into my old photos and party archives to share one of our favorite parties.    There was a time a few too many years ago when my son was really into dinosaurs.  This photo reminds me how fast time really does fly, because that cute little boy in the picture is now bigger than me.    He really wanted dinosaurs at the party, but as we all know real dinosaurs do not exist.  The only way my son could have dinosaurs at the party is if I made them.  I cut out a triceratops and a giant T-rex out of large cardboard.    The triceratops greeted the kids at the front door. 

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Blogger is back, and other things

In case you were wondering why some of your favorite blogs did not have any new posts in the last 24 hours or so, is because blogger was down.  Hopefully whatever was wrong is now fixed, and everything is back to normal. 

Last night we attended one of our many end of the year activities.  My youngest had a piece of art in the spring art show at the high school.   There were many wonderful things in the show from many different grades and schools.  Here is she proudly showing her work with her wonderful art teacher. 

Today we had mileage club during lunch recess, down to 3 more..Its bittersweet because I have been doing mileage club for several years, but my daughter will be moving on to a new school next year.  I love seeing all the kids at lunch time.   

The 4th grade talent show will be ON. Yea! My daughter is very happy about that.  Now we just have to practice, practice, practice. because the show is 3 weeks from TODAY. 

I have not had the chance to get to the grocery store at all this week and will be coupon shopping with a good friend tonight.  Look for the deals of the week shortly. 

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