Family Weekend

Last week, Jason was offered 2 extra BSU Bronco football tickets. He called his brother Jared and dad to see if they could make a quick, impromptu trip from Utah to Boise. They accepted and brought Grandma, Teresa and Lynely too. Yay!

I knew General Conference would take up several hours of our weekend, but thought that we could find some time to do some crafting. Even though Lynley's 1st birthday isn't until January, I asked Teresa if she wanted me to help her do some birthday prep.

Ya, ya, I know. I just can't help myself. :)
She accepted my offer and chose "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" theme.
We made pom-pom caterpillars for these cute invitations.

Next up, the "1" shirt. I purchased 3 different fabric options, but we narrowed it down to these 2 choices.

This was the combo we finally decided on.

Isn't it so cute?!

Lynley & Taylee

We also made this Hungry Caterpillar inspired circle garland and Teresa worked on a bigger Happy Birthday banner too.

Mom Smullin contributed by doing a blanket stitch around the applique.

Isn't it adorable?

Abree & Lynley

Jared-Lynley-Teresa

Even though it was a quick visit, we thoroughly enjoyed having everyone here.

So glad you guys could come. Love you!

Grandpa & Grandma Gifts

Jason's mom called me around Christmas time. We talked for a few minutes and then I admitted to her that their Christmas gifts, from us, were going to be a little late. She asked if she and dad could come visit the next week and spend some one-on-one time with our family. I said YES! ..of course. Then she said not to worry about sending the gifts, they could wait to get them when they got here. Whew!

Two of the things I had been working on were these......

1. A "Golf Score Card" for Dad.

Not a golfer myself, I don't know how useful these will be to him, but they sure are CUTE! And that's what matters, right?

2. A pin cushion, with customized pins, for Mom.

"Grandma's Po-tees"

My niece Jordyn couldn't say her K's, when she was little. She used to call pins "po-tees" as in pokeys. Jordyn is now 8 and has learned to say her K's, but Grandma thinks it's so cute, she still refers to them as "po-tees" often.

Here's how I made the "po-tees".....

I uploaded photos into Print Shop. Then I cropped and lightened each one. (This was something that was recommended.) Then I printed them off onto special Shrinky Dink paper made for inkjet printers. Then I cut or punched the photos/pictures out.

Next I stuck plain (dressmaker) pins through the picture and put them on a cookie sheet covered with a paper bag.
By trial and error, I learned that cropping the photo off-center made it look better. Who wants a pin through their forehead that looks like an extra eye or very unfortunate placement of a large mole???





Then they baked in a 200 degree oven for about 5-7 minutes, until they were done curling and shrinking.









Viola!

Customized "po-tees".

Aren't they so cute?!!!

The possibilities are endless. I tried to use my special Shrinky Dink paper wisely (because it was a little spendy) by sneaking in flowers, butterflies, crowns, shoes, initials, etc. between the photos.

I LOVE how they turned out!

Happy New Year!

For New Year's Eve, we had J.C. and Mom & Dad Smullin with us.

We made the plan for the night; dinner, games, snacks, games, snacks, snacks, snacks and watch the ball drop with Dick Clark at midnight.

I made something new, Peanut Clusters (with crushed potato chips for that salty/sweet thing).

And we had something old, (or should I say traditional) a cheese ball or "Ball Cheese" as Rylee calls it.

We also purchased some firework poppers for when the ball dropped and the clock struck midnight.

We started the evening with a turkey dinner (Thanks for the turkey donation Clawson's. It was yummy!)

Then the gaming and snacking commenced. First up was "Apples to Apples". Much coercion and smack talking went on....all friendly, of course. Taylee was the stealthy, silent type winner, while J.C. was the loud, in-your-face LOOSER. (Just teasing you J.C.!) Then it was on to UNO...all the while snacking away.

When it was a few minutes til, we went upstairs to watch the New York ball drop. Dick Clark was there (along with Ryan Seacrest) to welcome in 2010.

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I'm excited to see what this year brings.