Haley's 4th Birthday Party

Haley wanted a Hello Kitty Birthday, we didn't have much money to spend on her party but did a lot of DIY stuff and she loved it.

I got a cupcake stand for cheap and glued these jewels on it. I also got some Hello Kitty sugar pieces at Wal-Mart for like $2. I added them to the chocolate cupcakes we made and it almost looked designer.

So you know how at parties have the yummy party mix called "puppy chow"? We just switched it to "Kitten Chow" and it fit right in.

We got a big bog of twizzlers and named it "Kitten Whiskers". Isn't it cute!

Here is the little set up for the present/favor table. I made these flower balls which have gotten lots of use for birthday parties, photoshoots ect. All the girls had pink princess crowns to wear around for birthday.

We also had a fruit tray, hummas and pretzel crisps, a meat and cheese tray and a veggie tray. For the adults we had sodas and juice boxes for the kids.

We made kitty masks out of paper plates and the girls colored and signed a huge paper for Haley to hang up in her room.

Really the only thing that cost the most was Haley's cake. It was a Hello Kitty small round cake surrounded by pink cupcakes with Hello Kitty rings.(I didn't get a chance to get a really good pic of the cake but it was an ordered cake from Albertson's so not too fancy).

Aren't these girls the cutest!

For party favors I  got a pack of pink bags from the dollar store and we filled it with little toys and candy. I drew eyes on the bags, with a kitty nose cut from foam and whiskers cut from construction paper.

The party was a blast and everyone had fun. And the best thing was Haley was thrilled with everything!

DIY Pedicure for busy Moms

If you are a busy mom or just a busy gal in general and have a limited budget this diy pedicure is perfect for you! Being a military family with 6 kids (and of course the whole 60% of the paycheck going to the ex thing) makes for an extremely tight budget. But even if you have no moolah it doesn't mean you can't look nice. We all need to pamper ourselves sometimes, so I've come up with this cheap little pedicure routine I do occasionally. Disclaimer: My feet look awful, I've neglected them for so long. If your scared of feet you may not want to read on haha.

First remove any old nail polish and clip toes to desired length. Remember to clip straight across, not at an angle to avoid ingrown toenails.

Ewww my feet are seriously in need of a makeover!

Next, fill a basin (ok I used a mop bucket don't judge meh!) with warm water to hot water. Add 1 cup of Epsom salt and 1 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar and mix. Soak your feet for 10-15 minutes and then dry off.

In the first picture you will see a handy little tool that you use to push your cuticles back and trim away any excess skin around the nail. This will help in preventing hangnails. Most dollar stores will carry a tool like this or walmart has them really cheap as well. At this point you can also use a pumice stone or Ped Egg if you have bad callouses. I don't have either of those tools so I skipped that part.

Looking better!

 

Next find a happy color to paint your nails. If you are artistic go for a neat design and multiple colors. I am not when it comes to painting so I stuck with a hot pink from Claires. (By the way Claires always has great deals on nail polish like buy 1 get 1 free. Of course the dollar store has polish too for a dollar but colors are very limited)

 Looks a little red here but trust me they were BRIGHT pink.

 

 

After your polish has dried slather on some lotion. I love this Dr. Scholls for Her stuff. Its so creamy and soft. It also doesn't have much of a smell either which I like because I'm sensitive to smells. Walmart and even grocery stores carry Dr. Scholls for Her. It's a little more than I'd like to pay but it lasts forever so it pretty much equals out.

Finally don't forget to put on some comfy socks. This will keep the moisture in and also make sure things like dog hair and dirt don't stick to your feet. I know they make some socks with aloe in them. They are amazing and I wish I had a pair. But I do have adorable monkey socks!

Serenity's Tangled Party

My beautiful little Serenity turned 5 last week! It took me quite a while to plan her party, but it turned out awesome and she had a great time.

I got her a Tangled shirt to wear for the party. Isn't she pretty!?

 

 

 I had a table laid out with a poster for each girl. There were crayons and markers to make art like Rapunzel did in the movie. They also got a foam wand to decorate with glitter shapes.

 

I made each girl a long braid from yellow yarn and glued it to a headband.

 

 

This was our marvelous food table!

 

 

I handpainted a cardboard sign to be like the "Snuggly Duckling" on the movie. I cut the duck out of paper but painted the rest.

 

 

I made cupcakes and dyed the frosting green. I added a fake purple flower on top. The stand was also handmade from cardboard, styrofoam rounds and purple wrapping paper.

 

 

 I made jello boats from blue jello, half a mandarin orange and a toothpick with a purple flag.

 

We also had chips and dip, meats and cheese and fruit all served in frying pans. Notice the golden flower in the back? Yep got that in there too. (If you have seen the movie Tangled you will get the significance of it haha) I made brownie cake pops as well. I stuck them in styrofoam floral blocks covered in purple wrapping paper.

 

 

One of the games we did was pick a duck from the tub. If you got the duck with an X you got a prize!

We also played "Throw pascal in the pan". The girls threw rubber lizards into a frying pan.

 

 

This was our present table. I made the tower in the back from a pringles can, paper, yarn and fake moss. I wish I had gotten a better pic of it, it was a pain to make but turned out really cool!

 

 

I love her face, she was so excited about everything!

 

 

And here is the masterpiece tower my hubby and I made. He constructed it out of cardboard and I painted it and attached flowers and yarn hair.

 

 

Fun times!

DIY Honey Face Mask

Relax & Refresh With A DIY Face Mask
Guest Post by Kendra Thornton

After visiting the beautiful island of Honolulu, Hawaii, I wanted to recreate the same refreshing spa experience in the comfort of my own home. My stay at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel, one of Honolulu’s top hotels for spas and facials, was incredible. The staff at the Abhasa Spa made my stay wonderful and it is certainly not a trip I will soon forget!

 

So why do we only find time to relax and refresh a few times throughout the year?

Being a mom is a full time job - a rejuvenating face mask is exactly what you need to calm your nerves and replenish your skin. After months of dry skin this winter, this Avocado and Banana Face Mask is just what you need! Avocados contain high levels of vitamin E, vitamin K and antioxidants that can prevent premature aging, repair skin cells, and fade dark spots. Bananas are full of vitamins and packed full of antioxidants. This mask will brighten and hydrate your skin all from the comfort of your own home!

Ingredients

1 avocado

1 banana

2 teaspoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of honey

Directions

Take one banana and cut it into small pieces with a knife. Cut your avocado in half and scoop out the insides with a spoon. Place these into your blender and mix until there’s a smooth consistency. Once the consistency is smooth, drizzle the olive oil and honey into the blender and blend once more. If you don’t have a blender, mash the ingredients using a fork.

 

Pour your smooth mixture it into a medium size bowl and use your hands to apply the mask to your face. Let your face mask sit for 20 minutes while you relax! Afterward, rinse the mixture off with warm water.

With this refreshing face mask, you’ll feel the day’s stress lifted away.  You don’t have to wait for a vacation to feel refreshed and relaxed!

 Bio: Kendra Thornton: Travel advocate, TV spokesperson, PR businesswoman, proud wife and mama of 3. I am a long time travel expert who has been packing my bags and traveling the world since I was 3 months old! I've found my utmost desire in life is right here in my own home. I have mixed my excitement for travel by bringing the taste of authentic cuisine and rejuvenating beauty remedies to my own home with some of my unique recipes and tips. Enjoy!

The Girls Room-Reveal!

I am very excited about this post!! I have been working on organizing and remodeling my girl's room for about 2 months now. It was sort of stop and go, I had to search high and low for each piece of furniture. Everything had to be not only what I envisioned in my head but in my price range (of like $5 lol). It finally all came together! I debated revealing it since I'm a perfectionist and in my mind it isn't quite PERFECT yet. But it is at a place where I can be comfortable with it, and if I waited until it was perfect I would never post this. So without further ado.....

 

This is what I started with. The walls were an ugly mint green when we moved in. We had bunk beds that were donated to us a long time ago.

There were a few wire racks in the closet and two mirror doors. We took one mirror door off to create more space. (Its a pretty small room)

We turned the bunk beds sideways so to create more of a flow. We put the bookshelf in the awkward corner behind the bed. Of course we painted the walls pink!

My mom and sister made this beautiful bedspread and pillow sham. (Maybe I can get her to do a guest post on how she did it!) It turned out absolutely gorgeous!! Thank you so much Mom and Kate!

I found this princess castle thing in a storage auction way back when. I kept it for some reason and I'm glad I did. The metal rack came from yardsale. It was a yellowish brass color so I repainted it black.

I'm sure you have seen this toybox before! It was an old green military footlocker Steven had and I remade it. See the process Here. I put all the girl's stuffed animals in the box. The top is also padded to make a bench for reading.

I found some pink Ikea curtains at Goodwill. We put them above the closet to sort of section it off since we removed the doors.

Eventually I think I will redo this section. It's still not "neat" enough for me. But it does look pretty good. I found this wood cube at a yardsale. The 6 tubs on the bottom are from Dollar Tree. I wrapped the middle 3 ones in duct tape. The top 3 boxes are various cardboard boxes covered in duct tape. You can find a tutorial for that Here.

I also found this cube at a yardsale also. There is a bin for undies, a bin for socks and the top 2 bins hold pajamas. The middle right side is Serenity's clothes and the other side is Haley's. This is where I keep their everyday clothes. Their church dresses and outerwear hangs up above.

And finally lets not forget the switch plate. Someone had cut a huge hole when installing the light switch. We had to replace the regular cover with an oversize one to cover the hole.

The total cost for this room makeover was:

Primer (came with the house)
Glidden Paint (Home Depot) $20
Switch Plate (Home Depot) $2
Bedding (present from my Mom)
Bookshelf (Yardsale) $10
Cubes (Yardsale) $40
Duct tape for boxes (Walmart) $6
Tubs (Dollar Tree) $8
Paint for toybox (Home Depot) $3
Fabric for toybox (Ebay) $8
Ikea curtains (Goodwill) $3

$100 Room Makeover!!! Boo yah can't beat that!


So what do you think? Hope this brings some inspiration to my readers! Would love opinions!

Easy Easter Bunting

I'm making some cute props for my Easter shoot. I like bunting but couldn't find anything the exact style I wanted so I decided to make my own. Fabric bunting is generally sewn but...ain't nobody got time for that! So I was lazy and tacky glued it.

 

Anytime I have clothes or fabric with stains or holes, instead of throwing it away I cut large squares out of it and save for projects. I picked out a bunch of easter/spring colors from my stash.

 



I cut one square into a diamond shape and used it as a pattern for the rest of my squares. (Yes I know its not totally geometric. I was lazy, don't judge)

 

After about a half hour of cutting I ended up with a nice pile of diamond shapes.

I folded the diamonds over a piece of yarn to make sure they would match up nicely. I pinned a few just to get an idea of how much space I wanted in between each piece.

Next, time to glue. I used Aleene's Tacky glue, and put a line across the middle of the diamond (where I stuck the yarn) and also down each side. I folded the diamond over and pressed.

 

 

I made two strands with 9-10 traingles each. I can't wait to show you my Easter shoot set up!