Holiday Mail for Heroes

It's November 4th and I have already been struck by the Christmas bug. My workplace is decorated with candy canes and glitter galore, so it's not really my fault, right?

Every year I try to find something I can do to spread joy to others during the holiday season. Soup kitchens and canned food drives are common this time of year but today I ran across sometime I haven't seen before. The American Red Cross is sponsoring a campaign called Holiday Mail for Heroes. The concept is simple, sign a holiday car for a service member, pop it in the mail, and the Red Cross will make sure it gets to the right place.

There are a few guidelines that the Red Cross asks us to follow:
-sign all cards
-use generic salutations such as "Dear Service Member"
-send only cards, no letters
-do not include any personal contact information
-do not insert additional items, such as photos

This would be a great project for a group of people to do together and multiply the holiday cheer. just think of how many cards a Girl Scout troop, soccer team, or group of girlfriends could produce! The Red Cross will accept cards in large mailing envelopes or flat-rate boxes which could help you save on postage. No need to send envelopes, just cards.
 
Cards need to be received at the address below by December 6th so they can make it to service members before Christmas.

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

My goal is to send out 20 cards, who else is with me!?

What are you planning on doing this year to spread holiday joy to others?

Free Prints From Shutterfly

Oh boy, oh boy. This deal has got my juices going this morning. Now, what prints am I going to order? Hmmm.

TIP: Instead of ordering 101 prints, order 99 instead. I know, you'll be missing out on 2 free prints, but you will be saving $2.00 in shipping. 99 prints ship for only $5.99.

If you don't already, follow Shutterfly on Facebook to get all these great deals!

Day 4: Pumpkin Stitched Box

I have to admit, Christmas isn't my favorite holiday. This girl is all over fall and that's why the next two projects in this series will pumpkin coated in all their orange goodness.

Have you ever had that experience where your hands wanted to do something crafty but your brain couldn't come up with anything creative for your hands to do? That's how this project was born! My hands were itching for something so I jumped in the car and headed to Hobby Lobby. After pacing down a few aisles I came across a 2 inch square box with a hole cut int he top. My brain went "Ohhhh, okay!"

The stitching pattern is a variation of the pattern in this pin but I had to do some adjusting to fit the dimensions of my box. I also opted to keep the  box it's natural brown color; I think it compliments the vibrant orange of the pumpkins.

Day 3: Metallic Frame Ornament

I've been busy crafting all week to bring you Day 3 of my blog series Craft Through the Holidays 2013. Today I'm featuring a metallic framed cross stitch I just finished. 

The best thing about this is you can add literally anything to the inside of the frame. I chose to frame a cross stitch I recently finished, but you could also frame a family photo or a piece of your child's artwork. 

I purchased the frame from Michael's for $1.49 and made a hanger out of the same DMC floss that I stitched the ornament with. The frame is white cast plaster which I painted with a metallic silver and highlighted the grooves with a black Sharpie. Super easy!. I didn't want to paint the fame to be too ornate and take away from the stitching.

You might even consider sitting your little one down with the frame and some paint to create their own masterpiece. 

Don't forget to become a follower of my blog to get updates and more projects from this holiday blog series. Find the little follow button on the right side of this page. Isn't he cute!

I love freebies.

I'm excited about a Facebook notification I just saw from Shutterfly.

Wait, did I read that right?! Free 16X20 print!!

Here's the breakdown:
Print cost: $17.99
Shipping cost: $4.99
Final Price: $4.99

Compare that to $15.99 for in store pick up at Walgreens and I'm sold! I regularly follow Shutterly on Facebook and see all kinds of these promo codes. They are great about deals.

Day 2: Button Flower Magnets

Day 2 is here with adorable Button Flower Magnets.

I found this pin on Pinterest and knew the pattern would be the perfect size for a magnet. As you can see, these cuties are just bigger than a quarter. Aren't they darling?

Each magnet takes about 30 minutes to stitch, finish, and attach the magnet to the back. I decided a set of three would be perfect so I chose six colors to mix and match as I went. For a set of three, you can use 3-9 colors along with a green base for the leaves.

Even if you have never picked up a needle, this project is east to learn! This is a great blog post that shows step-by-step how to cross stitch. After you get the basic stitch down, follow the pattern and you'll be there in no time!

Once my stitching was complete, I carefully cut around the design leaving one square as a border. Then I broke out the Fray Check and dabbed small amount of this magic liquid on all the edges. I swear, this stuff is great! Lastly, I loosely traced around the stitching on some scratch paper to create a template for the magnet. I transferred the template onto an adhesive back magnet sheet. Remember to cut the magnet just smaller than your template so it doesn't show on the front of your masterpiece. Peel off the paper backing to revel the sticky magnet and adhere your stitching. Walah! Button flower Magnet complete!

 

Day 1: Treat Greeting Card

We're starting Day 1 of Craft Through the Holidays with a freebie! Start the holidays off right with a free greeting card from Treat!

I love the options available from Treat. Not only do they have hundreds (if not thousands!) of cards available but they give you the option to personalize almost every part of the card. Every card allows you to add a personalized message, including images, on the inside of the card. And if you're like me and you struggle to come up with the perfect message, they help you out with that too with several pre-composed messages. You can even add your recipient's name on the cover with some and add your own images to others.

With code TREFD3A973you can personalize a card for free through 12/31/13. In my experience, this is 100% free. No tax, no shipping, nada. Free.

If you love this card, which I'm sure you will, keep looking at Treat. Most of the cards I have purchased form them are around $3.50 each and come 100% personalized. Hallmark ain't got nothin' on that!

Make sure to become a follower to get updates on this blog series. ---->

Craft Through the Holidays 2013

With the holiday season right around the corner I'm ready to jump into craft projects feet first. There's nothing more I love than a homemade gift, so I better start early if I'm going to check off everyone on my list!

Join me on my journey to Craft Through the Holidays. I'm starting this blog series of homemade holiday gifts to inspire myself, and my readers, to make some wonderful gifts. I'll update this page with links to all the projects but check back often for the newest project in my series!

Craft Through the Holidays
Day 1: Treat Greeting Card
Day 2: Button Flower Magnet 
Day 3: Metallic Frame Ornament 
Day 4: Pumpkin Stitched Box

Busy Bee

It's been a busy few weeks for me which means very little computer time. Luckily I've had the chance to pick up my *new* (to me) camera a few times. Last week I traveled to San Diego to see my 13 day old Godson and this weekend I was in Dallas for the ASU/Notre Dame football game. 

Isn't he the cutest? 

And of course, what is San Diego without a little beach time at Mission beach?!

 

Photography: My History

I've always loved photography. On family vacations I always manned the camera and took the pictures that my dad would eventually show off to our friends and family when we returned home.

To me, photography is about memories and beauty; it's about remembering a moment in time that will be gone in an instant.

Today, I'm taking a trip down memory lane of some of my favorite photos. Buyer beware, I had no experience of training when I took these photos; many of them where taken when I was still a teenager. Some how, I figured it out and came up with these beauties.

 Arches National Park

 Fiery Furnace, Arches National Park

 San Diego, California

 San Diego, California

 Yosemite National Park

California

Shutterfly Wedding Book Layouts

Almost a year later I'm still in love my with Shutterfly Wedding Album (and my husband of course!). I started by using pre-designed layout pages and added stickers, backgrounds, and borders in our wedding colors to jazz it up. I love looking at our photos in this book. Here are a few of my favorite pages. What do you think?

This book wouldn't be half as amazing as it is without the beautiful pictures taken by Peoria, AZ photographer Shayla Lettman.

How I Shutterfly for {nearly} free!

I absolutely LOVE Shutterfly. My first experience with the website was when I made the guest book for my wedding in 2012 (you can see a photo of it here). I was so thrilled with the results that I made a book of our engagement pictures and eventually an album of our wedding day photos.

But, Shutterfly isn't bound just to weddings. I have also made custom mugs, magnets, cards, and good ole fashioned prints. I have never been unsatisfied with a project! They have all exceeded my expectations and brought a smile to the face of my recipient.

The only downfall is that Shutterfly can be a bit pricy. But, alas, I have found a few solutions to that problem too! 

1. If you sign up for their email list on their website, Shutterfly will send you occasional deals by email (usually once a month).

2. I follow Shutterfly on Facebook. They show up a few times a week on my news feed, nothing annoying, and occasionally a freebie pops up!

3. I also have an account at My Coke Rewards. It's free to sign up and if you drink CocaCola beverages there is no extra cost. Next time you have a Diet Coke look under the cap; that random looking code is a Shutterfly photo book in the making! In my mind, I already bought to soda and now I'm getting something extra! They have a large selection of prizes but my favorite are int he Personalized and Photo section.

Right now there are 28 options on MyCokeRewards, and the selection changes daily! Don't think it's worth collecting caps? I think of it this way: A 2x3 magnet costs 30 Coke Points. Each cap from a 2 liter is 3 points and the codes on a 12 pack of cans are worth 10 points each. If I have family over for a BBQ and buy 3 12 packs, I just earned a magnet!

Yes, with all these deals you still have to pay shipping but I'm okay with that.  For example, I'll use a code to get 12 cards (savings around $13.08 based on design) and pay $4.99 per shipping. It works out to be about $0.42 per card, and that INCLUDES envelopes. You'll never find a Hallmark card for that price, and those don't even have your amazing pictures on them!

I love having personalized photo products in my home and I love giving them as gifts. through my methods, I have been able to do this and stay on a tight budget!

D Wedding Photos

A few weeks ago I had the honor of helping photograph the wedding of my husband's cousin and his beautiful new wife. Well actually, before the ceremony we took these pictures at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. We had gotten to know the couple over a few short weeks in Texas but it is obvious to us that they had the true love spark. I knew pictures were important to her, as they are to me, and it was so special to be a part of their day in this way.

Pasta with Lemon Shrimp

My husband and I love pasta and shrimp dishes at home. Until today, I hadn't found a recipe I liked so these meals ended up being a sauce-less heap of pasta with shrimp on top. Fear no more, the recipe has been found! I've used all of these ingredients in some fashion or another trying to perfect this dish but I never nailed down the secret; lemon juice. Who knew!

The recipe comes from this pin from The Recipe Club blog.

Vegetable Oil

Kosher salt

1 1/2 pounds linguine

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

5 tablespoons good olive oil

3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)

2 pounds large shirmp, peeled and deveined

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds

1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large, heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 tablespoon of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

Summer Sangria

Oh, summer. The surf, the sand...the sangria! 

This pin involved a lot of slicing and dicing. The results were well worth the 2 hour wait!


1 750-ml bottle dry white wine (I opted for a cheaper bottle since I was infusing my own flavor)
1 1/2 cups Essensia
1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup peach liqueur (I skipped the extra calories)

3 peaches, each cut into 12 slices
1 large orange, cut crosswise into 6 slices
1 large lemon, cut crosswise into 6 slices (Poor selection at the store this week)
3 to 4 cups ice cubes (I substituted with the frozen raspberies)
2 cups frozen raspberries
1 small pear

Mix white wine, Essensia, strawberries, peach liqueur, peaches, orange slices, lemon slices, pear and frozen raspberries in large pitcher, smashing citrus slices slightly. Let stand at room temperature at least 2 hours or chill up to 4 hours. Serve sangria over ice.