December Blog Train Freebies!!!

A few of our girls are participating the December LDS Blog Train on our sister srapbooking site, Talented Scrappers.  They have 3 sets of papers for you.  

This set is on this blog =)

Download here

Visit their blog, to get this paper pack (and the rest of the link for the blog train)

 For the glitter papers, go to our facebook page and grab yours:

DIY Thursday: Olliblock Coupon Codes

Are you looking for a fun inexpensive gift for your kids for Christmas? Well I give you Olliblocks.



If you are addicted to Pinterest as much as I am you might have seen these adorable blocks flying around. Awhile ago I pinned them as an idea for Christmas gifts for my boys and a few days ago I went to their store to check them out.

SO CUTE! They have a bunch of different styles and they are all cute. To purchase the files to make a set of three (that's 9 blocks) it costs $12. But being the cheapskate I am I went searching for a discount code.

There are a bunch of blogs who have promoted Caravan Shoppe. (Where Ollieblocks are sold.) And all of these sites were given 20% off discount codes. And they still work!! Yay!! It looks like you can use one coupon per item you purchase. So I bought the starter pack and the Zoo booster pack. Originally $24 I got them for $14.40.

Here are a few of the codes I found and the super cute blogs they are from.
http://www.thecoterieblog.com - code - welovecoterie
http://www.sisterssuitcaseblog.com - code - suitcaselove
http://www.doeadeery.com - code - lovedoeadeery
http://frockfiles.com - code - welovefrock

Caravan Shoppe also has their own discounts you can take advantage of.

For 20% off an order of $25 or more, use the code itsaparty.

For 30% off an order of $50 or more, use the code caravanconfetti

Well I hope this helped with some of your holiday stress. Love you all and happy crafting!

Wild Card Wednesday: Christmas gift ideas

The Christmas season is now upon us! It is such a wonderful time to remember our Savior's birth and to give to others. A couple days ago we had a family Christmas party and usually we all bring a little something for each family. Nothing too fancy, just a little something to say hey we love you and appreciate all you do. I got thinking that all these fun gift ideas would be great to share in case any of you readers are looking for some kind of idea for a gift for neighbors, friends, or families. 

Gift idea #1

Loaf of bread: We "loaf" you tons!

Gift idea #2

Hand Soap: We "wash" you a Merry Christmas

This is what I gave everyone this year. There is a really cute printable on this site. I was going to use the printable originally, but then realized my printer needs a new color cartridge, so I had to make my own using plain black.

 Gift idea #3

Hot chocolate: Wishing you a "warm" and wonderful Christmas

 Gift idea #4

Hersheys kisses: We wish you a Merry "Kissmas"

You can also put kisses in a whisk and say  We "Wisk" you a Merry "Kissmas"

Gift idea #5

A spatula with a box of brownies or cookies: We "flippen" love you!

Hopefully you like one of these ideas! Have fun shopping and gift giving this Holiday Season!



Sweet Tooth Tuesday: Gingerbread Trees

This is a post from last year but it is so fun I thought I would share it again =)

A great Christmas tradition is building gingerbread houses and decorating them.  We have lots of fun doing it, but usually our houses cave in and they end up a pile of crackers, frosting and candy.  I wanted to do something that would be easy, fun, and would stay up.  I heard this idea and instantly loved it!  Gingerbread Trees!!  It was super easy, cheap, and the kids had fun!  It kept them occupied for a couple hours and wasn't labor intensive for me, which was good considering we did this 5 days after I had my baby.

Here's what you need to create your own gingerbread tree forest:
sugar cones (not waffle, the sugar ones are flat and will stand up)

frosting (either store bought, or whip up your own, I used shortening and added powdered sugar until it was the thickness I wanted)
food coloring, optional

whatever candies you want to decorate (sprinkles, dots, m&m's, marshmallows, licorice, ect.)

Then let the kids spread the frosting and decorate (and of course they will munch on the candy)!  So easy!!

You can find this awesome post linked up to the following Fantastic Parties:

Sweet Tooth Tuesday: Nutella Oreo Cheesecake Deep Dish Cookie Pie

That name is a mouthful!!  But so is this dish!  It is very good and really rich!  The way I found this was I was going to a Pie Night (everyone brings a pie to share) and I didn't have a pie and it was in 2 hours...not enough time to make a pie.  So I searched pinterest and found this recipe.  It was a huge hit with everyone!!!  Here is the place I found it: Back For Seconds

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups butter (softened)
• 8oz cream cheese (softened)
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cup Oreos (chopped )
• 3/4 cups Nutella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350* In a large bowl cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Gradually add in the soda, salt, and flour and mix until incorporated being careful not to over mix. Stir in 1 cup of oreos and the chocolate chips by hand.  Press half of the dough into a greased cast  iron skillet.  Spread 1/2 cup nutella all around the dough and top with remaining dough. Bake for 30-35 minute or until toothpick inserted comes out clean (there will be some melted chocolate  on the toothpick, you just want to be sure the dough itself is cooked through) Let cool and drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup of nutella (melted) and remaining oreos