Dare to Share #248

It is Friday night, and you know what that means..

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Hard to believe that in a few days it will be February. It is also hard for me to believe that my son only has one semester of school left before graduation. This week I was able to post a few posts, and have a few more in the works. My daughter who you may remember from her Crafting with Kara posts is all grown up now, and wants to be involved in the blog again. We have a few posts coming up for the Super Bowl and Valentine's Day.  

A couple upcoming posts also may include my special girls B and T. Being a blogger for US Family Guide I was asked to check out a website with fun gifts for girls.  Earlier this week I shared how my readers could get 15% off Gifts for Little and Tween Girls.  B and T will hopefully have the chance to try out one of the fun nail sets. 

Are you going to have a Super Bowl Party? In today's post I shared the Super Bowl Party Supplies  I received for our upcoming Super Bowl party 

The Dare to Share feature this week is for Valentine's Day.  This Red Velvet Fudge by Country Chic Cottage looks really yummy, and can be made in minutes. Be sure to stop over to the Country Chic Cottage for the recipe. 

My co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations is also getting ready for the Super Bowl.  One of her posts this week was for Super Bowl Printable Candy Bar Wrappers.  Print some of these up for your party next weekend. 

 Now it is time for this week's party.  You are welcome to share anything that you would like to share. If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature, your post will be featured on the blog and social media. This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure. Kim also chooses posts to share on her blog and social media. 

Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Read More »

Super Bowl Party Ideas and Supplies

It's that time of year again.. Time for the biggest day for football of the year.  Many people get together and have Super Bowl parties even if they are not fans of the teams playing. Some love watching the game, some love watching the commercials, but everyone agrees that they love the Super Bowl food.  

As you know from past posts, I have been working with Oriental Trading Company to try out their party supplies, and share them with you.  We hope to have a Super Bowl party with friends next weekend, but before then I want to show you some of the great football supplies you might want to for your own party. 

In the picture above are the football paper lanterns.  They would look really cool hanging above the food table.  If you are a fan of March Madness, they also have basketball paper lanterns if you need those for a future party.  

It was hard to get the entire Football Pennant Banner in the picture.  This one has a flag for all the yards of the football field.  If you prefer a banner representing your favorite team, they have several professional team banners to choose from. 

These are the mini football popcorn box that holds the perfect portion of popcorn.  I love all the flavored popcorn recipes I have seen online, and may try to make one for the big game. 

The football take out boxes are a great size to fill with your favorite candy or small treats. 

The football field treat bags would be great to send home goodies on Super Bowl night, or for a sports themed children's party. 

The football utensil caddy has 6 sections to hold all of your party utensils, paper football straws and even football themed napkins 

The football paper chili bowls are a great size for individual portions of chili or other appetizers such as meatballs, potato salad, or cheesy appetizers.

If you like to bake, they even have football themed cupcake liners.  If you don't want to make cupcakes, I like to use the liners for easy chocolate cluster candy.

We did not open the Inflatable Buffet Cooler yet because we do not have a pump to blow it up yet.  When we do have the party, I know a friend who does. You will really want to see how cool this is though, but checking out the Football Snack Stadium Idea  on their site. 

It is always a lot of fun to take pictures of all your friends at a party.  This is the football themed photo prop set.  

As many of you know I am an Ohio State Buckeye. I thought I might originally have a National Championship party, but after the New Years Eve game, I am going to save the for next year.  Under the napkins and OSU paper straws are really cool football themed necklaces.   They have many NCAA themed party supplies so next fall you can have parties for your favorite team.  

My daughter is showing off the Mini Finger Favors, the whistle from the Football Photo Prop Set and her own twist on the football necklace.  

There is still time to order your party supplies  and receive them in time for the Super Bowl. There are many more football themed items, and over 20 football party ideas and recipes which you can see here.

I hope to be able to post an update of our Super Bowl party soon. 

Read More »

Save 15% off SmitCo Gifts for Little and Tween Girls

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I have two special tween girls in my life. I love these two, and they are like bonus daughters to me.  My own daughters are almost grown now, so it has been fun to still be able to make all the kid's crafts and cute treats with B and T.  We have also done things like to go Cedar Point and watch the movie Trolls together. 

As a US Family Guide Blogger, I am sometimes asked to try out different products and share the with my readers.  I was excited when I saw I was being asked to check out the company SmitCo, a company that has quality gifts for girls ages 2 to 12.  

Some of the gifts include different diary sets, and diaries with a lock and keys in Emoji and Diva themes.  If they like to do their nails, there are several different nail art sets to provide hours of fun.  If they like to craft the Mermaid themed scrapbook is huge hit, for those who like to play dress up there are 3 unique princess dress up sets.  SmitCo  products also  include rose gold, gold or rhodium plated jewelry and sets packaged in cute gift boxes.  

I think B and T will especially love the nail art sets in animal and emoji themes. 

Want to see more of the great products? Check them out here.

https://www.smitcollc.com

                                       

My readers get to save money! Get 15% off your Entire Cart of Gifts, when you use the promo code ACART15%. 

Read More »

Dare to Share #247

Another week of crazy weather  and work.  I do have a few new blogs posts in the works, so watch for them soon. 

Valentine's Day will be coming up before we know it. I will admit, it has not been on of my favorite holidays, other than eating lots of chocolate.  I definitely would not mind getting some of these Chocolate Covered Strawberry Hearts from My Suburban Kitchen.  Be sure to stop over to her blog to see how she made them.  

If you have followed my blog for awhile you know that I enjoy making things from toilet paper rolls. (snow owl ornaments, minions, hanging rainbow flower, and more) I really love how my co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations uses printables to make these fun Star Trek characters. 

It is now time for this week's party.  You are welcome to share anything that you would like to share. If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature, your post will be featured on the blog and social media.  This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure. Kim also chooses posts from the party to feature on her blog and social media.  

Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Read More »

Dare to Share #246

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Have you had crazy weather where you live? This week we have had just about everything. Monday was a pretty normal day.  Tuesday we woke up to 4 inches of new snow that fell overnight. During the morning hours we had freezing rain on top of that snow, and many schools around us cancelled. By afternoon we had temps close to 50 degrees. Wednesday morning we had some icy spots, but nothing too bad. That evening  we had thunderstorms, but temps were dropping fast. Thursday morning we woke up to everything covered in ice with more freezing rain. Today it was somewhat back to normal again, but it never got above freezing. I am ready for spring, how about you? 

I chose these Ear Muff Oreo cookies by My Thoughts, Ideas, and Ramblings because they would be the perfect treat for a Snow (or ice)  Day. They would definitely be a fun activity to make with the kids while you are stuck inside. 

My co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations has several new posts this week. One of them is how to make Clocker Cookies based on the book Immortal Descendants. Be sure to stop over and check them out. 

It is time now time for this week's party. You are welcome to share anything that you would like to share.  If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature, your post will be featured on the blog and social media.  This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure. Kim also chooses posts to feature on her blog and social media.  

Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Read More »

Dare to Share #245

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share!! 

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but I am still trying to adjust to the new year, and get back into my regular routine.  The kids are back in school, but we are getting used to the early mornings, and homework again.  I also want to get back into the routine of blogging more frequently again.  I do have some project ideas I hope to make soon. 

My co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations has a bit of inspiration to go by with her printable of Disney song quotes.  It really is some good advice to follow. 

Now it is time for this week's party. You are welcome to share anything that you would like to share.  If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature  you post will be featured on the blog and social media. This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure.  Kim also chooses posts to feature on her blog and social media. 

Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Read More »

Where's the Party?

You may have noticed that it is has been quiet on the blog the last couple of weeks. Both my co-host  Kim and I have been spending the last several days with our family and friends. Since both Christmas and New Years have landed on a weekend,  you are probably busy celebrating with your family  and friends as well.  The party will be back next Friday, and we are looking forward to seeing all of your holiday posts..  

See you in the New Year!  

Read More »

Dare to Share #244

It's Friday night, and you know what that means. 

It is time to Dare to Share!!  

Are you ready for Christmas.. Honestly I am not, I still have a lot to get done.  This week though, I have been celebrating with two Christmas parties and a Sanctus Real concert.  I also managed to post to Christmas themed posts.  

I recently has an Elf Themed Cookie Making Party with some special girls in my life.  We need to make some more, because out of all of the cookies we made, I only got to eat one! 

This week while working on a sponsored post, my children experienced a bit of a Christmas Miracle. It was something that made this mom very happy, and even happier when it happened again a second night.  You can read what happened in Our Christmas Miracle with DiGiorno.

For the Dare to Share Feature this week, I chose Easy and Delicious Peppermint Marshmallows by Simply Darrling.  I love marshmallows of all kinds, and they look perfect for Christmas.  

My co-host Kim from Kandy Kreations has a really fun classroom party treat.  I love these Santa Suit Rice Krispie Treats.  

Now it is time for this week's party. You are welcome to share anything that you would like to share.  If you are chosen as a Dare to Share Feature your post will be featured on the blog and social media. This party is also seen on Kandy Kreations for double the exposure.  Kim also chooses posts to feature on her blog and social media.  

Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Read More »

Our Christmas Miracle with DIGIORNO® RISING CRUST® Pizza

We have a very busy week this week with Christmas right around the corner.  It is a week for Christmas parties, concerts and even a snow day.  On a recent trip to Dollar General, my daughter was very excited to see that DIGIORNO® RISING CRUST® Pizza was on sale. That evening I was to attend a Christmas party for my small group, so I planned on making a pizza my teenagers loved for their dinner before I left.  

My daughter loves hot chocolate as much as I do, so we picked up a box of NESTLÉ® Hot Cocoa Mix as well. 

An added bonus, it was on sale for only $1. 

I made the pizza, and we all thought it looked really good.  We never want to  spend a ton of money on pizza delivery, when DIGIORNO® RISING CRUST® Pizza tastes is so delicious. 

We love the thick crust, bubbling cheese, and great amount of pepperoni. 

My kids decide to sit by the Christmas tree to eat, and while they were enjoying their pizza something began to happen. I noticed their moods began to change.   A bit of back story, my kids do not always get along. The are close in age, but have very different temperaments and interests. It is rare for them to hang out together for very long.  On this evening though, I noticed lots of smiles.  

I even got them to pose together while they were making goofy faces.  That night while they were enjoying their pizza they sat together for several hours, watching videos, talking and just enjoying each others company. A true Christmas miracle for this mom. The next night they did it again, playing a game for hours.  While it could have just been the joy of the season, I think I will buy DIGIORNO® RISING CRUST® Pizza more often if it means more evenings  like this. 

Dollar General  offers digital coupons that you can use several of your favorite projects.  

Here what is currently available. 

$1/1 DiGiorno 

$1.50/2 Nestle Toll House Morsels 

$2/1 Nescafe Tasters Choice 

$1/1 Nestle Confections Stand Up Bags 

$1/1 Nestle Coffemate Liquid Creamer 

Enjoy! 

• 
  

Read More »

Elf themed Cookie Party

Recently I had the chance to have a cookie making party with my daughter, and two special girls in my life.   As you know from my Big Birthday Post that I have recently started working with Oriental Trading and trying out their party supplies. The movie Elf is one of my favorite Christmas movies, so when I saw all of their adorable elf themed party supplies, I knew I wanted to have an Elf Themed Cookie Party with the girls.  

In the picture above I filled elf candy buckets with elf themed treats. I could have filled them with candy, but I knew we would have plenty of sugar making the cookies   

Each of the girls got a couple of elf dolls, elf stickers, elf rubber duckies and Elf on the Shelf erasers 

The Plush Long Arm Elves were perfect to hang from their very own themed Elf tree  

The girls also got a plastic elf mug that were the perfect size to dunk their cookies in milk. 

We did not have the chance to use these yet, but were are going to use these cupcake collars and picks to make Elf themed cupcakes very soon.  

I am pretty excited about these Elf Photo Stick Props.  While the pictures I took with the girls that day, they  are too dark and blurry to post (I just do not have enough good light where I live). I am going to take these to a Christmas party I am going to this weekend.  Many of the guests will be the ones who attended my Big Birthday, and it will be at my friends house who does have good lighting. ☺ 

These elf treat boxes were really cute, and the perfect size for a candy treat. 

B was in a silly mood, and kept making faces in all of my pictures. She normally smiles and poses in pictures. At least I got one picture of her working on the cookies without her making a funny face. Here she is concentrating on which cookie cutters to use. That is more than I can say for my own daughter who still makes faces in every single picture I take of her. Hopefully she will outgrow that soon! (maybe I will do a post on it) 

I knew the girls were going to make a big mess, so I tried to organize my supplies. I put all of my Christmas sprinkles and cookie options on a tray to keep them contained and somewhat organized. 

I bought take out containers at the dollar store for the girls to take their cookies home.  I will definitely be doing this again when we bake. 

We ate some of the cookies on Elf themed party supplies,   

T cooperated with a big smile while showing off her elf goodies.  

If you are interested in hosting your own elf party or other Christmas theme, there is still time to get fun themed supplies from the Oriental Trading Christmas Store.  They have a great selection of party supplies, decorations, crafts and stocking stuffers for many different themes. .  

Read More »