Sunday, July 29, 2012

Planeteer Shirts

Yes, I am referring to Captain Planet and the Planeteers. My girls and I are huge fans. Since Captain Planet is from the early 90's you can't really go to the store and grab a Planeteer shirt. So I decided to make one for the girls. Here's my little Planeteers.




If you're a Hub watching Planeteer too here's all you need to make one. If you follow my blog you already know that I'm a big fan of painting shirts. :)


Instead of a stencil I just traced a small party plate and the outside of a bowl to get the shape I needed. If you


Then I googled the design of the Captain Planet emblem and painted it on free hand.


The girls were super excited to try them out on their favorite color shirts.


And then enjoy the awesomeness of their Planeteer Ring(pops)


Just like any good planeteer they even called Captain Planet to help clean up the trash in the park. (we really did pick up the trash left at the park. Maddie said they had to since they were Planeteers)


Linking the project up at:

Friday, July 27, 2012

Fun Hair Friday #1

So, I've seen pictures of "hair" bows floating around the web and even Lady Gaga sports one. I thought I would give it a shot and it's really super simple to make. I didn't take pictures of the steps because it's pretty hard to take pics while you are doing hair, but the explanation is really easy.



1. Put hair into a high ponytail on the top of the head

2. On the last twist on the ponytail leave the tail of the ponytail facing forward (towards the forehead) and a loop on the top

3. Seperate the loop in half and bring the tail of the ponytail back towards the back of the head through the split

4. Tuck the ponytail end in the back of the hair elastic


Here's the closeup


Thursday, July 26, 2012

Whimsy Couture Strappy Dress - Pattern Review

I was chosen to review the Whimsy Couture Strappy Tops & Dresses pattern for my oldest daughter. This was my first online PDF pattern. I had shyed away from them in the past because I wasn't sure how they would print out or if it would be easy to understand. To be honest, I shy away from patterns all together. I always seem to skip steps or mess something up, but this pattern was super easy to follow and went together in an evening. That's even with it taking be an hour to figure out how to sew a button hole on my machine. I've never actually tried it before on this machine and I missplaced the instructions. AHH! lol Here are some pics of how it turned out.


And my husband thought I would never find a good use for this fun paisley print I bought on a whim.


Here's the back. The straps are ribbon. I love polka dots.


This one's an out take of Maddie being silly, but it's really my favorite. :)


You should head over to Whimsy Couture Blog and check out all of the awesome patterns there.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Lynd's Fruit Farm

Today we decided to go blackberry picking at Blue Frog Farm (owned by Lynd's) and then to the Farmer's Market at Lynd's Fruit farm. The girls had a blast. It was early afternoon and we had beautiful weather. I think the girls ate as much as we put in the quarts. Here's some fun blackberry pics.



Yup, that's me. See how pretty the sky is?


Maddie searching for the black ones


Abby excited to find some ripe ones


 The girls trying what they pick


Sneaky blackberry theif got caught. haha


 Abby tried to sneak a red one and decided that it wasn't very good. :)


The girls in the Giant Red Chair outside of Lynd's. They are enjoying some Fresh Peach Cider Slushies. YUM!

This is how we spent our Saturday. How did you enjoy yours?


 










Friday, July 20, 2012

Cream Cheese Fettuccini

Every Family has a go to meal. You know the meal that you announce is for dinner and everyone gets excited. In our family it's Cream Cheese Fettuccini. I got the recipe from my mom. That was a family favorite when we were growing up as well. It's super easy to make and only has 4 ingredients. If you follow my blog you will see a trend here. ;-)


What you'll need:

8 oz pasta (obviously it calls for fettuccini, but we use smaller pasta so the girls don't make quite as big of a mess)

8 oz (1 box) cream cheese
1 stick of butter or margarine
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup parmesean cheese

1. While the pasta is cooking, combine the 4 ingredients in a saucepan on low, stirring occasionally until it is melted into a sauce.

2. Combine the pasta and the sauce and enjoy. See I told you it was easy.

This recipe serves 4, so we usually double it. That way everyone can get as much as they want and there is sometimes enough for lunch the next day. ;-)


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Pencil Vases

My oldest is starting Kindergarden this year along with 2 of my sister's boys, so we decided to put together a YAY for Kindergarden party! We haven't set an exact date yet, but this is the first of a few projects that I am working on for the party. It all starts with a box of pencils. For both vases I used a box of 72 pencils I picked up at Staples for $5.


I got my inspiration from this project I pinned off of Pinterest. It was actually a lot more difficult than I thought it would be to hot glue the pencils onto glass jars. The glue was drying faster than I wanted it to but it turned out pretty cute. I used an old Goober jar and a Smuckers caramel toppings jar so they would be different sizes.


I tied fun school related ribbons around both of the vases for some extra fun. Now I have to figure out how exactly I'm going to use then but I like how they turned out. Just some pencils, hot glue and some jars out of the recycling bin. :)




This project was featured at:


Friday, July 13, 2012

Heath Bar Cake

This is probably the easiest and best cake EVER. No seriously. It's amazing and only 4 ingredients. I remember my parents making this for us when we were kids except they used Skor bars (we were stationed in England) but it's basically the same thing. It the most requested birthday cake from the guys at work.


The 4 ingredients you will need are:

 - Chocolate cake 
 - Cool Whip
 - Caramel topping
 - Heath bars



1.You start with a chocolate cake in a 9x13 pan. Any chocolate will do.

2. Next you will need to poke holes all along the top of the cake. I use the end of a wooden spoon because that's what my parents used. It works great.

3. Then you take your caramel topping and fill in all the holes. I prefer to use the stuff that comes in a jar, but the squeeze bottle works too. It just comes out thinner. In a pinch I've even melted down caramel candies with a little milk to get a sauce.


4. After the caramel comes the cool whip. See, it just keeps getting better and better. The extra creamy makes for a better 'frosting'.


5. Now for the CANDY!!!!! haha It's easier to break up the candy if it's been refridgerated or frozen. You don't want a mushy canybar mess. :) This is how I break my candy. I double bag the candy in freezer bags so it doesn't break through.


6. Last step, throw the candy on top and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to eat it. It's awesome. Maddie was sad when I told her it was going to work with me tomorrow fora co-workers birthday.




This recipe was featured at:


I'm linking post up to:

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Spagetti Spiders

That's what my girls called them anyway. I'm sure you've seen some version of this on the web somewhere, I know I have. I've seen it on facebook, other blogs, and probably pinterest too. I decided to give it a try because lets face it, we could always use a fun kiddo friendly meal on those days that the kitchen is less then appealing.

These were super simple to put together. I used:

Fettuccine noodles
Ball Park all beef franks


I took the hot dogs and cut off the ends then cut the hot dog in thirds.

I took 4 fettuccine and stuck it through each piece of hot dog (think spider or octopus)
 - I made a couple of 'baby' ones because my youngest is obsessed with baby everything.


Once it cooks it looks like this. Sorry for the crappy picture.


We served ours tossed with a little bit of butter then parmesean and shredded cheese.
Since we were going for kid friendly, we paired it with cottage cheese and watermelon.

The girls ate them with their fingers and I let them.....just this once. ;)

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Perler Fun

My youngest took a nice long nap today for our lazy Sunday so my oldest asked if we could "be crafters". I had recently ordered her some Perler beads off Amazon for an easy summer project so I thought that this was a perfect time.




Maddie chose the heart and "helped" me choose the star.



Important to find just the right color :)


Here they are all full and ready for ironing.


She was very proud of what she created and it turned out beautiful. I loved that my usually "ants in the pants" kind of girl sat for almost an hour straight to get her heart just right. She has plans for exactly where she plans on sticking it in her room.

My little DIY-er in training :)


Friday, July 6, 2012

4th of July at Kings Island

The Mister and I took our girls to Kings Island for the 4th of July. We like that they do specials for Military families so we were  able to get there on a budget. We packed a lunch a bunch of water bottles and some snacks and had a blast. It was in the 90's and super hot, but a little bit of ice cream and some water rides and we were good to go. :) The Mister posted a ton of pictures of our adventure on his blog. If you click on the picture it will take you to the rest. :)

Thursday, July 5, 2012

The Versatile Blogger Award

The Versatile Blogger Award

This is my second blog award and I feel truely blessed. My blog is now going into it's 4th month and I still feel like I have so much to learn but it has been such a creative outlet and it lets me be me. Thank you so much to Jessica from The Thriftiness Miss for the nomination. I truly enjoy reading your blog. 



Here are the requirements for the award...


1. Thank the blogger who nominated you for the award
2. Include a link to their blog in you post, as well as the award image
3. Give 7 random facts about yourself
4. Nominate 15 other deserving bloggers for the award
5. Include links to the nominated bloggers' sites
6. Let the other bloggers know that they have been nominated for the award.


7 Randoms facts about Erin a.k.a. Crafty Biggers :)

  1. I'm 27 years old.
  2. I'm horribly competitive and can turn everything from word puzzles to folding towels into a competition.
  3. I LOVE gadgets. I work in IT and I love Smartphones and iPads and my fitbit. I even love gadgets for my kitchen as well. 
  4. I love the color red. My car, my decorating, it's just such a bold and awesome color.
  5. I love to bake but I hate to cook.  
  6. Going from an Air Force brat to an Army wife has turned me into an awesome packer. From the car to the suitcase I've inherited the tricks to make it fit. 
  7. I hate being outdoors. Modern conveniences were made for a reason but I try to take my girls out as much as possible because it's good for them so I take one for the team :) 

I would just like to thank Jessica again for the nomination. I'm amazed everyday that there are people who take time out of their day to sit and read what I have to share.  

In no particular order here are 15 bloggers that I'd like to give this award to...
  1. Sara from Applestone Drive
  2. Carolyn from My Life is a Nutshell and I'm the Nut
  3. Andrea from Frugally Sustainable
  4. Kim from Made in a Day
  5. Shatzi from Love and Laundry
  6. The Frugal Mom
  7. Cave Princess
  8. Carrie from The Created Home
  9. Amy from Home Happy Home
  10. Chris from Biggers Daily Dose Photography :)
  11. While Wearing Heals
  12. Jaime from Polkadots on Parade
  13. Two in Diapers
  14. Susan from Second Chance by Susan
  15. Alese from 2 Crafty 4 My Skirt

I'd love for you all to go and check out some of my favorite blogs out there. Some very talented people out there. :)



Pick-up Sticks.....Literally

When you have no power and it's hotter inside the house then outside, what do you do? Take the kiddos outside and play pick-up sticks........literally. ahaha 


It's only just the beginning.


They seemed to get bigger the closer we got to the back yard.


Maddie showing how strong she is.


"Look Mom! I found the biggest one!"



 The tree across our yard



Anyone have a chainsaw we can borrow? :)

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Happy 4th of July

I hope that everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July with their family and friends. As you are with your families, please say a little prayer for all those men and women who will not be with their families this year. Thank someone who has or is serving our country and be reminded that this is a day to celebrate those who keep us free. No matter what your personal opinion is about the military or your political offiliation, these pictures show the reality of the family behind the soldier.


A complete stranger took this picture for me when we were saying out good-byes before my husbands first deployment. She captured a moment that is so sincere and I couldn't thank her enough.
(The baby is my oldest, Maddie when she was  10 months)



During the second deployment we sat at the computer each night listening to a prerecorded bedtime message from daddy and kissed him goodnight. :)

R & R is both the best and the worst part of a deployment. You're so happy to see your soldier, but it breaks your heart to watch them go back.


For a little bit of fun. Here is an old picture of 3 little Air Force brats. Can you tell which one is me. :) My awsome Dad served 20 years on the Air Force and was my hero growing up.
(We'll see if my sisters read my blog and notice what an awesome picture I posted. haha)

BTW - Yes, I realize that today is only the 3rd, but I don't have access to the internet tomorrow so early it is. Hope you all have a blessed 4th of July.