Making the World Cuter Monday

This weekend was good.

Nothing to do-and just lots of time spent with my husband and kids...does it get any sweeter than that?

I say no.

Here's what happened this last week on Making the World Cuter;

• Giveaway for Becca Winslow Love Cuff. Winner announced on Tuesday! Be sure to enter before you leave. SO cute!
• DIY Big statement Wall Art Tutorial
• Talking about the graffiti thug that lives with me...aka my 2 year old
• A yummy inside out pot pie from our new blogging friend: Time to Play Mom
• Before & After Nightstand Tutorial

Now let's see what you've been up to!

And don't forget to link back...you can use a button if you like...

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If you would like to do a giveaway on Making the World Cuter Monday-please Contact Me

DIY Before & After Nightstand

Don't forget to enter the Becca Winslow Hand Stamped Love Cuff Giveaway!

I wish I could say that this was a thrift find, or something I found on the side of the road begging for a makeover, but sadly this has been in my possession my whole married life...going on 10 years now.

It has served as a phone stand, a hall cabinet and most recently my nightstand. All while being green and well let's face it UGLY!

How can I stand on a soap box declaring that I make the world cuter with this sitting next to my bed all these years?

I say that I cannot.

Makeover time in the biggest way!

Here are the products I used in this project;

• Mythic Paint: Color-Bedford Park
• Purdy Brush
• Krylon Spray Paint: Color-Pewter Gray
• Sanding Bug-Rockler

The after is MUCH better don't you think? I think I can keep it around now for another 10 years and actually let people see it without grimacing. Woohoo!

For the full tutorial and steps I took to do this transformation-head on over to the DIY club and check it and so many other cute and fun projects out!

Sharing HERE

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Friendly Friday-Time to Play Mom.

Don't forget to enter the Becca Winslow Hand Stamped Love Cuff Giveaway!

Time again to meet another new friend! Cassi is here today with a brand new blog to love and enjoy. This recipe looks amazing-such a great comfort food on a cold day! Take it away Cassi!

Hi,

My name is Cassi and my blog is brand new. Come by, Time to Play Mom.

I have a great vegetarian recipe full of hearty carbs that will make you say bye bye to your new years resolution :).

INSIDE OUT VEGETABLE POT PIE

We call it this because it's my recipe for vegetable ramekin pot pies only, well inside-out. It cuts the cooking time down by like 20 minutes and tastes the same.

(serves 4)
1/2 a small yellow onion (chopped)
2 tbs butter
1 cup baby carrots
2 tbs flour
1 small can of vegetable broth
1 tbs milk
1 russet potato (peeled and cubed)
3 celery stalks (chopped)
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup frozen corn
Biscuits of your choice
Parmesan (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions and carrots in butter for a few minutes while you prepare the other vegetables

add the flour and cook for another 3 minutes or so.

add the broth and milk and bring to a boil
add all of the vegetables and cook covered for 15 minutes (or until potatoes are soft)

take lid off and lit simmer for another 4 minutes or until it thickens

pour over biscuits and serve (yes, I am aware that the center one is deformed)

for the baby:

For the mamas: (Jordan wasn't home to enjoy)

It's a house favorite :)

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The ideas, and opinions expressed on Friendly Friday do not necessarily reflect the owner of this blog. Friendly Friday is a day where new blog friends are invited to share a post of something they think makes the world a cuter place. If you are interested in participating in Friendly Friday, please send a post in html format to tiff@makingtheworldcuter.com, with the subject Friendly Friday. Thanks! And keep it cute! :)

Graffiti Thug...AKA my 2 year old

This is one of those "Keeping it Real" posts.

You are going to see things-that are not pretty, not clean, and NOT CUTE!

They were made by a cute little guy, so it counts.

My 2 year old is a Graffiti Thug.

As an artist, I can appreciate the talent of some good graffiti on the side of a building.

As a photographer, I really appreciate some well placed graffiti on an abandoned train car.

As a mother, I do not, under any circumstance, no matter how well done, do I appreciate graffiti on my walls.

My kids are well aware of this.

But like I said, my 2 year old is a thug.

He has no respect for the law.

He laughs in the face of danger.

He gets a thrill out of the fear of being caught.

It's a real adrenaline rush for him, I tell ya.

Well for the last month or so, I have yelled and screamed, talked gently face to face with him, given time-outs, spanked hands, threw away the majority of markers in the house...all to no avail.

Usually I make him clean it up, but lately I've just let it sit on the wall-

One because he LIKES to clean it up and...

Two because once it is clean, he looks at it like a blank canvas.

Today he really had a hay day when he found not one, but two markers.

He really out did himself-his gang leader is probably really proud.

I'm sure my little boy is about to be promoted to head thug.

I went around with my camera today and just snapped a few of the places you will find this kid's tags...

So I'm pretty sure every wall in our house has some sort of art work on it at this point...

Which is why I think he decided to start on the appliances today.

Luckily this was dry erase marker...it came off really easily...he was not happy with me for cleaning it off so quickly.

He threw a bit of a fit.

What else can you expect from a thug?

It looks like this Saturday the whole family gets to get in on a community service project of cleaning up the graffiti that this little thug has adorned our walls with.

He sure is a cute little thug.

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DIY Wall Art for Less

Don't forget to enter the Becca Winslow Hand Stamped Love Cuff Giveaway!

I made these paintings to hang over my bed, but I am going to make another set for my hall, and then some for gifts. I love that I can change them up-and now that I have the majority of the supplies on hand...I can make a few sets in different colors and change them out with the seasons. :)

What I used for this project;

• 2 pieces of foam core board, found at the dollar store
• Can of Krylon spray paint; the color shown here is Burgundy.
• Magnolia stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils.
• Stencil Roller & Stencil Brush from Cutting Edge Stencils
• Deco Art Stencil Paint in Buttermilk & Slate Gray
• Painters Tape
• Gorilla Tape

For the full tutorial-head on over to the DIY Club and go to this post here.

I hung them apart over my bed, but I also like them together like this...

I was thinking it would look really nice framed too, or hung by some pretty ribbon. However they are hung, I think they look great and make a big statement on whatever wall you choose!

Do you like?

Sharing HERE

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Hand Stamped Love Cuff Giveaway with Becca Winslow Hand Stamped Jewelry

Edit...Giveaway closed! Winner announced!

I have a super fun giveaway for you today!

I SO want a set of these!

Becca let me pick what I wanted to give away, and I immediately chose this...LOVE LOVE LOVE!

This would make your wardrobe cuter for sure! :)

I hope you win!

---

The Love Cuff: Becca Winslow Hand Stamped Jewelry Giveaway

Hand-stamped jewelry is a fun, funky way of showing off the names of your loved ones or favorite quotes and phrases. At Becca Winslow Hand Stamped jewelry, we carefully handcraft each item to make sure your piece is as beautiful as it is unique.

Today we're offering YOU the opportunity to win one of those pieces! The Love Cuff features the name(s), word(s), or message of your choice hand-hammered into a beautiful sterling silver cuff measuring 3/8" in width and 6" in total length (which adjusts to fit most wrists). In addition, this bracelet can be stamped on both the outside and the inside! Stamp the name of your BFF on the outside, with an inside joke on the interior; personalize it with your children's names on the outside and their birthdates on the inside; or get really original and use the GPS coordinates of your first date and include a short message to your honey on the reverse. The possibilities are endless! *Double-sided stamping is an additional charge in our shop, but it will be included FREE for the winner of this giveaway.

How might you win this lovely piece? It's pretty simple. :)

Main Entry: Go to www.beccawinslow.etsy.com and choose your favorite item; then, share it below in the comment section.

BONUS Entry: Tell us what you would stamp on YOUR bracelet!

BONUS BONUS Entry: While you are choosing your favorite item in the Etsy shop, heart Becca Winslow Hand Stamped Jewelry and leave a comment below telling us that you did.

Giveaway will be open until Monday, February 28th. Winner will be chosen at random and posted on Tuesday March 1st.

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Making the World Cuter Monday

How was everyone's weekend?

Mine was LONG!

My husband's best friend passed away and we drove 11 hours, went to the funeral and turned around and came right back. Didn't get in until 3 am Sunday.

We are a little groggy over here!

His friend was having health problems for a long time, so it was a good thing, he is in a much better place!

I am sad because I was supposed to participate in the video over at Michelle's Blogiversary, but because of all of this, I wasn't able to do it! :( Still you need to head over there and check it out, some super fun girls from some of my most favorite blogs participated-and it turned out really cute! :)

Just in case you missed it...last week on Making the World Cuter...

• Valentine Hijacking from my sweet Husband
• We talked about a new way to save with Offermatic
• Showed a fun project out of an Amish star from my beautiful sister in law
• Kid talk about two of my cuties that are making me a little crazier instead of cuter
• Met Tara from the super cute blog Tara being Tara

Whew-what a week! :)

Good thing it's President's Day and the kids get a day off...hopefully we'll get to sleep in a little! :)

Let's show those Presidents how we keep the world cute! Just link back to me in your post if you would, it's what all the cute kids are doing! What have you got this week?

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Check out these other Linky Parties too!

Disclaimer: Anything posted may be used in an upcoming feature including pictures, (linked back to original owner of course). If you don't want me to use your pictures, please don't link up.

If you would like to do a giveaway on Making the World Cuter Monday-please contact me!

Friendly Friday-Tara Being Tara

Another Friday means another new friend! :) Tara is adorable, has fun projects and is getting married soon-you will absolutely love this cute gal! I'll let her introduce herself...

Hello, new friends!

My name is Tara, and I blog over at Tara Being Tara. I'm so excited to be visiting Tiff today at Making the World Cuter, which is one of my very favorite blogs!

I've been called a young person with old person hobbies. I'm a twenty-something who loves sewing, quilting and all things DIY. I'm getting married in April, and my fiancé and I are working on turning our first house into a home.

Some of my favorite projects include:

Tutorial on How to Appliqué

A Sweet Hanging Herb Garden

A Holiday Bow Wreath

I'd love for you to stop by and say hello. I love "meeting" new friends in the blog world!

Thanks Tara for coming over today and for making the world cuter! :)

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The ideas, and opinions expressed on Friendly Friday do not necessarily reflect the owner of this blog. Friendly Friday is a day where new blog friends are invited to share a post of something they think makes the world a cuter place. If you are interested in participating in Friendly Friday, please send a post in html format to tiff@makingtheworldcuter.com, with the subject Friendly Friday. Thanks! And keep it cute! :)

Life as I know it...

I thought I would have all of this free time on my hands once I was done with school.

Not so much.

This sweet little baby that has me wrapped around his finger is kind of a spoiled little pill.
He needs me to constantly hold him or at the very least be in arms reach these past couple of weeks. When I put him down in bed he cries like he is in immense pain and it doesn't stop until I pick him up...then it's all squeals and smiles.

So that's been fun!

I am a little bit grateful for this though...he is my last after all, and being 'forced' to hold and snuggle him all day and night...well it's not all bad!

The dishes, laundry, crafting and to do list may be ever growing, but at least I know I am getting my daily dose of baby slobber kisses. :)

My other child problem this week is with this little angel...with whom I rarely have a problem.
She is usually peaches and cream with extra sugar on top.

These last 2 weeks though, she is giving me all sorts of grief with her school work.

I love that I get to home school her and with her doing online work, it has made it easier to spend time with all of my kids and still be able to help her when she needs it.

She is super smart and can fly through her lessons, but she just wants to skip right to the tests and quizzes and just not do any of the assignments, unless she needs to hand them in.

Well I want her to do the assignments so that she gets writing practice, and math practice and such, and we have been butting heads constantly over it.

Her piano teacher also wants her to say her letter notes out loud while she plays, and she just doesn't want to.

The grief that I am getting from this sweet one is making me CRAZY!

Yesterday she cried for half an hour saying she didn't know what 4 + 1 was-because she didn't want to do the speed math sheet I gave her.

I wanted to throw her through a window...of course that low one we talked about. :)

It's amazing how kids that drive me so absolutely nuts-completely have my heart isn't it?

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Twinkle Twinkle Pretty Star

I have this sister in law that is my hero. (Hi Stef!)

I want to be her when I grow up.

Oh darn, I am already grown up and she is only a few years older than me!

Plus, she is a cute, petite little thing and about a size zero...two things people haven't said about me since I was like 10 (actually I was never petite, I've always been a bit, okay a lot on the tall side).

Well besides being super health conscience, spiritual, organized, well traveled, well read, a trendy dresser and being as cute as a button...she is AH.MAZ.ING at decorating, her house is to die for!

Really, next time in Utah, I should take my camera in for a tour, because there is inspiration oozing out of the walls of that place. You could ooh and ahh for hours!

Well lucky me, she is also the most generous person on the planet!

For my birthday she made me this beautiful star, and from the moment I got it home it has been hanging on my front door.

I only wish I wasn't renting this house and that I could have a cute front door to go under it! Isn't it cute? I was dead set on recreating one for Valentines Day so I could have a tutorial, but school, cuddling babies, trips and life got in the way and it never happened.

But you know what? You are all super smart, I bet you can figure out how to recreate this beauty in your own way...

• You will need a star obviously, but I bet a lot of you have one that is in need of a cute makeover-or at least know where you can pick one up.
• You will need spray paint if you want to give it a new color-and maybe some glitter if you want to sprinkle that on after painting it to make it 'twinkle.'
• You will need some scrap book paper in some pretty coordinating prints cut into triangles patterned from your own star.
• You will need mod podge, and maybe some waterproof spray to seal that baby nice and good so that you can hang it on your door without worrying about weather harming it
• And you will need a few pieces of pretty ribbon to hang it on the door, or wall or cabinet or wherever you want to display it.

I still plan on making some of these in different colors, I think it is a refreshing take on the star, and a refreshing break from one of the many wreaths that are always hanging on my door. Something a little unexpected...

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Be Cute & Save Money

Do you like to save money? Me too!

That's why I was excited when my friend Carissa told me about Offermatic.

Have you heard of this?

They find the stores that you already shop at and then they send you discounts to those stores!

By the way-not getting any compensation to tell you about this, I just think it's that cool!

They don't just send you coupons either, you don't have to print them out or anything...they just rebate the savings directly onto your debit or credit card.

You don't have to give them your credit card account numbers or anything, you just sign into your cards from their site so tha

t they will be able to 'see' your transactions.

Super easy!

You shop the way you always do, accept the offers and watch the savings happen! :)

Offermatic is the new Group-Buying thing you just have to do...I mean who couldn't use

instant rebates at stores you already shop at? No one, that's who!

Check out all the testimonials, watch the 90 second movie clip, check out all of the security features and then join Offermatic and start saving money...it's really a no brainer! :)

I signed up today and already saved $5 at Target! Can't wait to keep saving!

(disclosure I am not being compensated to write this post, I just think it's cool and want to share with you! However, if you do sign up through one of these links, I will get points which can unlock bigger savings and gift cards...so that's pretty cool!)

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Shabby Apple Winner! Is it you?

The winner of that cute little orange dress is #90...

Kendra said...

Love this dress! I'm sure I'd first wear it to church... orange is great!

Wed Feb 09, 06:47:00 PM

If you didn't win, you can still get 10% off with the code makingtheworldcuter10off.

And don't forget to link up your cute projects below-the linky list was off it's rocker yesterday, but now it's all fixed, so I am giving you an extra day to show us the cute! :)

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Valentine Blog Hijacking for a Wonderful Woman

Just a quick note to let my sweetheart know how much I love her and how proud I am of her accomplishments. For those of you who don't know Tiffany graduated with her associates degree recently in web design and she did it with a 4.0!!! She is truly amazing and I am so happy she is mine. I love you sweetheart and I don't know how you do everything that you do. You make life wonderful...

Love Chad

Making the World Cuter Monday

EDIT: I'm not really sure what is going on with the linky list today, I know that Brent over at Linky Tools is changing his server, so that is probably what is going on. Hopefully it will be all back to normal soon! :)

Happy Valentines Day!!!

I hope you are all getting spoiled rotten and showered in love and kisses...or at the very least chocolate! :)

You know I love you right?

Well I do.

Really & Truly.

I do.

xoxoxo

Smooches and hugs and all that good stuff!

And just in case that isn't enough to prove my absolute adoration...

You can enter to win this truly FABULOUS Shabby Apple dress here...winner announced tomorrow, be sure to check back and see if it's you! :)

Also...remember the wonderful Lifestyle Crafts Letterpress that you all swooned over and wanted? Well, if you're sweetheart 'forgot' Valentines Day or you just need an excuse to spoil yourself-(I'm talking to you!), they are giving all of my readers 20% off your total purchase with code...LCBLOG11

Now show me the cute stuff! :) Extra brownie points to those who link back to me or put my button in your post!

Current Sponsors:

Canvas People 40% off & Free Shipping on Any Size Canvas

Melissa & Doug Quality Educational Toys & Children's Products

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Shabby Apple Dresses & Accessories for all Occasions

Tiny Prints Stylish, Modern & Unique Stationery

Glasses USA Smartest Way to buy Prescription Glasses

Your Ad Here! Click for Details

Check out these other Linky Parties too!

Disclaimer: Anything posted may be used in an upcoming feature including pictures, (linked back to original owner of course). If you don't want me to use your pictures, please don't link up.

If you would like to do a giveaway on Making the World Cuter Monday-please contact me! :)