Shut the front door (literally)!!!! It's December?!

While I understand that I do not have a huge following, I do apologize for such a long gap in between blogs. Between a horrid stomach bug, my little Anna Banana's new found decision to not go to the bathroom, and the holidays so quickly sneaking up on me, blogging was the last thing on my mind.  I am going to try and have a weekly post, but we will see how that goes. :)  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed the time with your families, and are looking forward to the upcoming Christmas holiday (my absolute favorite)!  With having a little one in January we have had several hospital bills over the past year aside from all the headache from the insurance company (that is a whole other story) ,we don't have a lot to spend on our dear loved ones.  So I am truly grateful for PINTEREST!  (yes, it must be in all caps.)  I have been able, due to a couple craft nights, to make a few of my pins.  I must say I am very pleased and was surprised at how cost effective they were to make.

The first craft I made was photo coasters.

That would be my little sweeties!  You would not believe how easy these were to make!  You know when people say, "If I can do it, anybody can do it" well that statement was made for yours truly.  Seriously!  I have ZERO patience, I am by no means crafty at all, and well usually never finish anything.  Sad I know.  Don't feel sorry for me. I have come to terms with who I am and I accept it.  Besides if there weren't people like me what would Type A people have to get stressed out about? :)  Moving on.

The set of coasters pictured above were actually made with heavy duty resin from Home Depot.  I was able to make the coasters with another friend the second time around and hers look phenomenal!  I won't show them for her privacy. (You're welcome Hilary!)  All you need to make the tile coasters is a glue stick, popsicle sticks, some 4x6 photos, plain white tiles from Home Depot or Lowe's (I believe they are around $.16 a piece and are 4x4 size), and crafting resin.  That may not be the specific name, but I am going to post a picture of what we used.

I apologize the picture is sideways.  I found it in the crafting section of Hobby Lobby, and I had a coupon (Holla!) so got it for about half off.  I believe we used maybe a 1/4 to a 1/3 of the bottle and made 10 coasters.  You would be able to make a few sets for yourself or gifts (Christmas is just round the corner) for around $10.  Um, HECK YEAH!!!  You would also have plenty of the gloss left over to do several more or even use it on other projects.  There are lots of things it could be used for.  Another tidbit of advice would be how we actually set them up to do the project.  We laid out aluminum foil and then turned Styrofoam bowls upside down and laid the tiles on top of them. All you do to secure your pictures on the tiles is glue them with the glue stick.  Mix the gloss according to the directions and pour of the tile and smooth out with a popsicle stick.  Easy Peasy, right?  Oh, and in case you get a few bubbles, which you most likely will, blowing throw a straw onto the bubble will remove it.  I also think the coasters would be super cute doing some of the tiles with scrapbook paper as well.  You could even use a slightly bigger picture and  bigger tile and use one of the tiny plate stands.  The possibilities are endless.

My other project was a photo canvas.  I seriously am so happy I found this idea, b/c I have so many blank walls, but an even blanker budget.  Sorry, that was my lame attempt at humor.  I am going super simplify how to make one, but please if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask.

First off I would like to thank my friend Britney from OK for taking such beautiful pictures of my daughters.  She is so talented and if you get the chance for her to take photos for you, you will not be disappointed.   

So onto the canvases.  These are my very first attempts and I was just getting the hang of how to do them, but  all in all I am pleased.  These are 8x10 canvases and photos.  A pack of  2 canvases cost me $3.99.  Yep, that's right!  After you have the size canvas and photo you want all you need is a small tube of acrylic paint (usually around a $1), some Mod Podge, and sponge brushes. First you will paint the outer edges of the canvas with the color of your choice (I did apply 2-3 coats) and let that dry well.  After that, apply a later of mod podge to the entire front of the canvas and then place your picture on the canvas. I cut my picture down before I started the process but if you had an exacto knife you could probably cut off the excess after you put the picture on the canvas. (I hope that makes sense.)  Smooth out the picture and make sure it is good and secure to the canvas.  Wait a few minutes and then apply the Mod Podge over the picture.  It is going to look extremely milky and it will scare you at first.  I use matte finish Mod Podge and you can apply as much or as little as you want to get the affect you want. After the photo is completely try you can then take a small amount of paint and sponge where the photo and canvas meet to help blend it in.  I also sponged more paint in the corners to give it an cool affect.  Also instead of painting the outer edges of the canvas you could apply scrapbook paper.  Just an idea.

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this and I am truly sorry about the length of this blog.  I just wanted to share with you a couple of gift ideas that won't cost you an arm a leg, but look great too.  I mean what grandparent or parents doesn't love pictures?!

Carisa

Velma? That will be easy!

So, when I asked my sweet little Anna what she wanted to be for Halloween, her response was "Velma!" My first thought was when she saw other costumes she would change her mind, yet every time I asked her she never wavered and stuck with "Velma!" What an easy costume! She already had the shoes and wears a pair of my old glasses that I popped the lenses out. I will just go pick her up a orange sweater, brown skirt, and knee highs that can all be worn again. Easy Peasy and practical! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!  This Velma costume has turned into my worst enemy! Let me explain, lol.  On Monday, her dance glass was having their Halloween party so we were going to pick up the few ideas that we needed.  First place I went I found the brown skirt and it was super cute. (I thought "wow, this is going to be easier than I thought!") Next comes the battle between "the orange sweater" and myself.  It's October and the weather is getting cooler, so why would I think finding a solid orange shirt would be any problem.  That notion might as well slapped me across the face, pulled my hair, and sneezed on me.  (I am sure one or both of the girls probably did all of these things to me, but oh well.)  After finding the skirt,  I went to 4, yes FOUR more stores in search of a solid orange long sleeve shirt. Going to 4 stores in one day use to mean I was on a good shopping spree, but with a toddler and a 9 month old it now means I am getting a glimpse of what Hell is going to be like.  OK, maybe not that extreme, but it honestly is torture! I know you moms out there can relate.  Moving on.  The very last store we go to I find an orange shirt on clearance, (yahtzee!) but it is still not solid. I had even given up on the face it was going to be a turtleneck.  At this point, we had to leave right then to make it to dance on time.  Not only did I think this was going to be a very short trip for the girls and I, I now have no diapers or wipes, but Anna has pooped. So I buy both which I don't need, get both girls to the car, change Anna's poopy diaper and her clothes, then speed (sorta) to dance class.  While, Anna did look absolutely adorable, I was not still satisfied with our results.  Once I have an idea in my head, that's it, no turning back!  So while laying bed it finally hit me, go buy a white turtleneck and dye the shirt and knee highs. (cue the hallelujah chorus) GENIUS!!!!!  A few days later the girls and I had to return a couple of things, so once again we loaded up to finish this Velma costume.  First store, no dye.  Second store, which I will not name, but rhymes with Tal-Fart (prefer this name better), I loathe.  Loathe is probably stating it midly; I seriously have to emotionally and physically prepare myself to go in there especially with both children. Also, anyone with kids knows that just needing to pick up one thing is still never an easy task.  I am rushing to the isle to find the dye; I get there and not to my surprise every color of dye is there except (drumroll please) ORANGE!!!  So today in my last feeble attempts I will try a couple other stores to find orange clothing dye.  Many of you might say, "Carisa, why didn't you just go online and buy the costume?"  Yes, I could have done that, but I wanted to be practical and that would also be the easy way and for some reason I like to make things as hard on myself as possible. Once I accomplish the task, I will post pics. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and everyone has a safe and fun filled night of trick or treating! (Next blog I will be posting my chili recipe.)                                  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Carisa

Here goes nothing...

First off, if you are reading this Thank You!  I honestly do not know if anyone will really want to read anything I have to say, but writing a blog is something I have wanted to do for some time now so we will see. Secondly, the layout is probably only temporary, but since the "techie" part of my brain is usually non-existent this one will do for now.  Next, let's discuss the name. lol. I honestly don't want to admit how much time I had put into trying to come up with a clever name for my blog. I finally asked my hubby Greg what he thought and he suggested the current title. At first my reaction was the same as it has always been since I was about 4 years old. Pure Disgust! Seriously, for as long as I can remember, every time I told someone who was under the age of probably about 18 what my name was their response was always, "Carisa Explains It All!"  I know, I know Nickelodeon was very popular in the 90's, but come on people! Then for some reason it kind of grew on me.  I realize the name may go completely over some people's heads, and I hope no one really thinks I am going to "explain" anything I just wanted something that expresses my quirky fun personality.  Anyhoo, I hope to share stories about my little family and our "exciting" lives we live; trials, tribulations, and tips about food allergies (I am learning daily); some crafty ideas I acquire from my new favorite addiction-PINTEREST; and hopefully in the mix of it all a little humor!  (It really bugs me that the previous sentence is probably no where near grammatically correct, but oh well.  If you are an English teacher, my apologies!)  Hope everyone has a {blessed beyond words} day!!!

Carisa