Family Thank You Gift Idea

I wanted something fun to give as a thank you to the families who watched my little one during the days I was out of town at girl's camp. I thought it would be fun to give them a family thank you gift they could use together as a fun activity since many of the family members contributed to watching and playing with him.

I decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese's and get a whole bunch of tokens that I could split up between the families. All the families have young kids that I thought would enjoy going to play for free. I think it ended up with like 15-20 tokens per child.

I took a few of the little cups they have at Chuck E. Cheese to hold the tokens and wrapped them up in treat bags with a card. Easy Peasy fun family thank you gift.

Linking Up:
Market yourself Monday
Making the World Cuter
Just Whipped Something Up
Motivate Me Monday
It's So Very Creative
Craftomaniac Monday

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Cereal Treat Sunday-Addiction

I love dessert and I can't help but want a treat on Sunday afternoon. I love to try new recipes and thus Cereal Treat Sunday is born. I have so many cereal treats that I love. Maybe it is the crunch, maybe it is the ease of which they are prepared, but cereal treats are a favorite in our household. Each Sunday for the next well, while, until I run out of fantastic cereal recipes to share I will post on Sunday afternoon to give you a fun new treat to try with your family.

Let's start with a recipe that came from my mother in law. This one lives up to it's name. Truly, try to make a batch and just have one handful. Impossible!!

Addiction

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 Cups Butter
• 2 Cups Lite Corn Syrup
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 17 oz box Corn Chex
• 1 box Golden Grahams
• 1/2 box Kix
• 1-2 Cups Sliced Almonds
• 1-2 Cups Coconut Ribbon

(this recipe makes a huge batch, I half it quite often)

In large saucepan melt butter, then add corn syrup, then add sugar. Bring to a boil and boil 2-3 minutes. (stir until dissolved and then let it heat up without stirring)

Mix dry ingredients in a giant bowl. Pour liquid over and mix well. Lay in a thin layer on wax paper and allow to dry. You may want to let it dry overnight before putting it in Ziplocs otherwise it will be really sticky.

If you have a favorite cereal treat, please, please leave a link in the comments or send the recipe to me by email (tipsyblog@gmail.com) and maybe you will get featured.

Linking up:
Motivate me Monday
Craftomaniac Monday
Market yourself Monday
Making the World Cuter
Just Whipped Something Up
It's So Very Creative


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Feature Friday-Blog Swap with Scraps N' Strings

Hello to A Little Tipsy readers! This is Ruth and Sammy from Scraps N' Strings and we are so excited to be doing our blog swap with Michelle! We figure we had better introduce ourselves a bit before we start.

I'm Ruth and I am a stay at home mommy of 2 (3 and 1) and a part-time photographer, you can see my work here. I enjoy making "stuff" and taking pictures of them! I especially love to sew and like to break out the Modge Podge. I love anything that is quick and simple! After I got married, I started crafting with my sister-in-law Sammy as a way to make our homes cute without spending a lot of money.

My name is Sammy and I have 2 darling little boys, 2 1/2 and 1 year. I'm a stay at home mom and I like to spend my zero amount of free time trying to be crafty and beautifying my home. One of the first things my husband said to me when we bought our home was, "You want to put crafts up, don't you?" So that's what I've done. And now we've decided to share some of our ideas with you! We've got a little bit of everything on our blog, from baby and home tutorials to recipes!

Michelle wanted us to answer a few questions to help all of you get to know us better! So here we go- oh this is Sammy by the way :D

What is your favorite crafting tool or secret weapon? I would have to say that my new favorite tool that I have is the buttonhole foot on my sewing machine. I have just recently started using it and I love it! I think that my family is sick of me showing them all of the awesome buttonholes that I've made. They apparently aren't so easily impressed. :)

What is your favorite thing about back to school? My current favorite thing about back to school is that I'm not going back to school... hehe. But I don't look forward to my kiddos getting to that age, I'm kind-of attached to them at the moment.

What is your favorite thing for breakfast? My favorite breakfast is peanut butter toast on the 9-grain bread from bountiful baskets and a banana. It definitely helps to get me up and going in the morning.

Here are some of the fun crafts that we have had on our blog lately...

Our Pretty in Pink Flower

Our Pretty Petal Skirt

Our Sweet Vintage Bunting

Our Tag-Along Lion Named Phil

And our Crate Planter

We hope that you will come and stop by Scraps N' Strings and maybe find a little inspiration for yourselves while you're there! Thanks for having us over Michelle!!

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Snapware Ribbon Dispenser and Cupcake Carrier Review/Giveaway

I was so excited when Snapware contacted me to review their Ribbon Dispenser and Cookie & Cupcake Carrier. I love a good organizational tool and these products really impressed me.

Let's start off with the ribbon dispenser. I included this piece of the packaging to show it's many uses. I decided to do spools of ribbon on top and scraps underneath.

I have been looking for a good ribbon organization solution for a while now. I just wish I had a few more of these ribbon dispensers to snap together! I fit 12 spools of ribbon in this one carrier! I chose to house my thin ribbon (that I use a lot for weddings, baby showers and YW beehive introduction packets) threading multiple through each slot. Don't worry it can house the big spools too.

This was so easy to put together. The spools glide and the lids snap shut with ease. This is not that cheap thin plastic that is going to break or crack after a few uses. I also love that Snapware products are made in the USA!

Now on to the cookie & cupcake carrier. This thing is awesome! It can carry 24 cupcakes, multiple batches of cookies and brownies, or two 1/4 sheet cakes. Again the packaging below demonstrates better than I could (click on image to enlarge). I love the option to lift the inserts with the handles or with the finger slots. Ingenious!

I got to try it out making cupcakes for a birthday party for my Dad and Sister. I made my Dad's childhood favorite, Chocolate Walnut for 20 family members. Don't they look great in each in their own little spot?!

I loaded them up for their drive 15 minutes across town, including freeway and construction zones. I wanted to give the cupcake carrier the true test and put them in the back seat with no one guarding them.

They arrived unscathed and I was sold. When I brought them in I just pulled out the tray and put them on the counter for serving. My Sis was super impressed and said she loves the Snapware containers for ornaments.

Now you know I love to share the products I love and Snapware is making this possible. They are giving away a
Cookie & Cupcake Carrier
to one lucky reader!
(shipping must be within the continental US)

I know all those who attended Steph's Cupcake Conference at the Grand America would love one of these!!

To enter:

• Visit the Snapware site and join the Snapware family (upper right corner). Then, come back and leave a comment on this post with your email saying you did.

That's it! Giveaway will be open until Wednesday, September 1st.

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Super Simple Photo Tips for Food or Crafts

I learned most of these tips from my fantastic friend Quinn's segment on Studio 5. She is a food photog genius and does classes that I would highly recommend. These photo tips are for the super beginner and can be done with the $99 point and shoot model.

Photography Tips for Food or Crafts

• Place the object just outside natural light. This will give it good light without the harshness of direct sun.
• Use the timer on your camera to avoid shaking while taking the picture.
• Look for helpful items in unexpected places. I found this mini tripod on the right at Dollar Tree. It is small enough to fit in a purse as it only extends to about 6 or 7 inches tall, but works wonders for keeping pictures still so they aren't blurry.
  
• If you don't have a tripod, place the camera on a box with a bag of rice or beans on top to keep it steady. (I love this tip and used it regularly with 3 boxes of rice-a-roni topped with a bag of pinto beans before I found my tripod.)
  
• Use a reflector to brighten dark areas. Quinn suggests a silver car window screen or tin foil scrunched up for those who don't have a reflector. I brought home on of the cardboard lids with the shiny side from Cafe Rio to try out as a reflector.
• Don't be afraid to get close.
• Try out different settings on your camera and lots of different angles.
  

I hope these tips help you as they have helped me!

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Say It On the Wall Winner

The winner of the

$50 Say It on the Wall Gift Certificate is...

Aapree!!

who said...

They have a lot of neat things! I would really love the menu tile!

Congratulations!

And don't forget about their custom design contest! Click below for details.

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Awesome-est Subscribers!

I just saw that I am now at 1650 rss and email subscribers. I am just so happy and thankful that there are people out there who love to listen to all my randomness. Thanks for being awesome and giving me a little boost on this fine Sunday.

I was trying to picture how many people that is. Is that like a full LDS stake conference meeting? That is crazy. It's funny to think how nervous I would be to speak in front of that many people. Yet, here you are all are, like my really big pool of cool friends.

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Feature Friday-Blog Swap with At Second Street

Hi tipsy readers, My Name is Kalleen from At Second Street.

I'm a mother of four who loves to craft, create and design for my home and family.

Here are a few of my favorite posts/tutorials you can find over at Second Street:

I love making these T-Shirt Hats I try to make birthdays fun with special CAKES. I love to REFASHION CLOTHING. This jumper is made from a women's top.

Every now and then I make something for myself, like this TAG WALLET.

Meal time can be fun again with these FOOD FACE PLATES.
Michelle asked to answer the following questions:

• What is your favorite crafting tool or secret weapon? This is a hard one. I'm gonna have to pick my sewing machine. I use it all the time and not just for sewing clothes. I use it for so many other crafts. In fact a couple years ago 95% of my sewing machine use was for none clothing items.
  

• What is your favorite part of back to school?I hate to be superficial, but I love getting my kids wardrobe together. Last year we did a fashion show for dad with all their "new" clothes. My son tried on all his new hand-me-downs and my daughter got a mix of new and homemade clothes. It helped build an excitement about going back, when they didn't want to.
  

• If you were a color which would you be and why?Blue! I've always loved blue. It's the color of the sky and water, my favorite things to look at in nature. It has a way of relaxing and comforting me. Plus my eyes are blue.
  

I hope you'll come by Second Street and say hi.

Thanks Michelle for swapping with me today!

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Walmart Gift Card Giveaway Winner

The winner of the $25 Walmart Gift Card is...

pixie13

who said... Paper, Pens & notebooks. We go through them like water.

Congratulations!

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Say It On the Wall Giveaway

We have a brand new sponsor that I am so excited about. Everyone say hello to Say It On the Wall! They give your home a voice through the most adorable vinyl decor!

Here are some of my favorite products:

------------------------------------------

Right now they are running a special contest on their site...

If you have ever wanted to do a vinyl project, NOW IS THE TIME!!!

Submit your custom design and they will narrow it down to the top 10 entries who will receive 30% off their next order!

Then, they will put it up to a vote on their blog. The winner will receive the first copy of their design FREE (just pay shipping)!!!

(And, as a bonus, if they choose to list your custom design on their site, you will receive 50% off that item as a "thank you" for designing it!)

But Hurry! Entries must be submitted by the end of August!

------------------------------------------------

Now for the cherry on top...Being the generous sponsor that they are,
Say It On the Wall is giving away a
$50 Gift Certificate
to one lucky Tipsy reader to celebrate our partnership!!

3 ways to enter: (leave a separate comment for each one)

• Visit Say It On the Wall and tell us what you would buy if you won
• Like Say it On the Wall on Facebook,
  
• Follow their blog

Good luck! The giveaway will close Wed, Aug 18th.

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Chicken Grape Salad Recipe

This recipe is a family favorite from my mom. It is so easy and delightfully light for hot summer days. It also passes the hubby test for dinner even though it's a salad since the main ingredient is chicken. ;)

Chicken Grape Salad Recipe

Ingredients:
2 Cups Red Grapes
3 Cups Diced Chicken Breast
3/4 Cup Mayo
1/2 t. Ginger
1/2 t. salt
1 Cup Chopped Celery
1/3 Cup Sliced Green Onions
1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds



Mix it all together and enjoy!

I like to pair it with fresh fruit and croissants on the side. You could even put it on a croissant for a chicken salad sandwich if you wanted. If you do that I would suggest cutting the grapes in half or substituting craisins.

I am not usually a leftover person, but chicken grape salad keeps really well too!

Linking Up:
Topsy Turvy Tuesday

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Box Tops for Education-Walmart Gift Card Giveaway {now closed}

With the new school year rapidly approaching it's time to start thinking about how you can support your kid's education. Some parents join the PTA, others donate supplies, and some eat cereal. You know the kind with the box tops that donate to your school. I have a stack of them in my top drawer that go to my niece about once a month since I don't have a school aged kid yet. It make me feel good to hand over a baggie of cardboard stubs that will help buy new scissors and dodge balls!

The Box Tops for Education program is an easy solution and this year Walmart is making it even easier! From Aug. 3 - Aug. 31, head over to your local Walmart to find 4 Box Tops on participating General Mills products and earn more cash for your school.

With over 20 brands and 40 products participating, here are just a few that include 4 Box Tops that you can find at Walmart this August: Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, Pillsbury Toaster Strudel pastries, Chex mix, Betty Crocker Cake Mix, Hamburger Helper skillet meals, Totino’s Pizza Rolls snacks, Nature Valley Granola Bars and Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups snacks. Be sure to keep an eye out for Box Tops on Kleenex, Ziploc, and Hefty too!

Now let's sweeten the deal and give you some money to spend on these awesome products and collect your own baggie full of box tops. Courtesy of General Mills and MyBlogSpark, we are giving away a $25 Walmart gift card! Now that should get you on your way for back to school!!

To enter: (include email addy so we can contact you!!)

• Leave a comment telling us what must have item you will be purchasing from Wal-mart this back to school season.

That's it! Easy as 1,2,3! Giveaway will close Thurs, Aug 12th.

FTC Disclosure: I was provided this info, gift card and giveaway by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

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Spice Cupboard Organization

Here's a couple of quick tips for organizing your spice cupboard.

• Use a box of matches (or other small boxes you don't use very often) on it's side to make the spices in the back visible.
• Use a tupperware (we all have some laying around that have lost their lids) to corral mixes and packets.
• Put the things you use the most in the front working toward what you use least in the back.

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August Visiting Teaching Handout-Our Responsibility to Be Worthy of Temple Worship

Here it is... the August VT Handout on Our Responsibility to Be Worthy of Temple Worship. Fitting that I renewed my temple recommend last night. ;) I love this quote by Silvia H. Allred, it encompasses those who are striving to go and those who have been to the temple many times.

Click thumbnail to print 4x6

Feel free to print and use this handout as you like.

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Frosted Glass Jar Lanterns

This is a craft we did at LDS Girl's Camp that I just loved. We turned pint glass jars in to little lanterns. They turned out adorable. I am going to be putting mine in my little guy's new paleontology room. Stay tuned for deets on that. Now for the how to on to the Frosted Glass Jar Lantern Tutorial...

Supplies needed:
Pint jar
Stickers (or contact paper cut by Cricut)
Heavy Wire
Pliers
Flat clear spray paint
Tea light (real or battery operated)

1. Choose stickers and place them on the jar. These will be the spots left clear in the end.

2. Take a long piece of wire (2 or 3 ft depending on how many times you want to wrap it) and wrap it around the neck of the jar under the lip where you would screw on the lid. Leave it loose enough to fit a piece of the wire through for the handle. Use the pliers to pull the remaining wire around and up through the wire around the neck to make the handle. Make an arc of wire over the jar for the handle and secure on the other side. You can make a second arc or wrap the remaining wire all around the first handle to make it thicker if you like.

3. Hold the handle and spray the jar all around with two light coats of flat clear spray paint. If you spray too much at once it will drip. It will not look frosted until it starts to dry.

4. Let the paint dry for a few minutes and spray more if you want it more frosted. If it is too hot leave it in the shade to dry or the stickers will melt and leave residue on the jar.

5. Once the paint is dry peel off the stickers and put the tea light inside. We used the battery operated kind. You can get them at Dollar Tree.

The girls also got charms from different activities they participated in to add to their lanterns.

I found out from the lady in charge of our craft at camp that the original idea came from Under My Umbrella via Sugardoodle. They have a tutorial, but their background was missing so you could see the pics but could not read the words. Thus, I made this tutorial.

Linking Up:
Toot your Horn Tuesday
Anything Related
Topsy Turvy Tuesdays

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