Emoji birthday party

Hey all!

So its been busy around here. I was getting a lot of orders for NFL hair ties (visit Etsy shop link below), and once that died down, we had a 13th birthday party to plan!!  OMG, I have a 13 yr old. WOW!

And she actually picked a easy theme this year (unlike the Paris party last year - see below for link)...
EMOJI'S!!!!
Luckily for me, our LR and DR walls are already painted yellow. Ha Ha

First, we had to get the party supplies with all the Emoji's all over it. The banner and tablecloth were found at Five Below for $5 or Below.  Paper products were from Dollar General for about $1.50- $ 1.75 a package. A little steeper than I would normally pay, but....we did fill in with regular yellow paper products from....of course, Dollar Tree.

Next, we got some small pumpkins from the grocery store, and painted them to look like Emoji's. We just placed these around the tables for added decor. And the kids have a blast doing them.

My sister did pick up a few plain decorations at party City, but we jazzed them up a little.
First, she got these paper lanterns in yellow, and we cut shapes from construction paper, and hot glues them on. These were hung from our archway we have in the LR/DR area. Not pictured, but I did get 2 bunches of balloons from Dollar tree and put them on either side of the archway to complete that area.

My sister also grabbed this plain yellow flag banner, and we just drew some Emoji faces on them. Our DR walls are already that color yellow (I know...it wasn't me & its getting changed soon), and that was our easy photo booth back drop.

   

Of course the kiddies needed some favors to remember how awesome our party was - he he.  A couple months ago, when we decided on the party theme, we came across these cups. I had a job back then and it was no biggie. So we bought the cups at Walmart. Good things too, because a few weeks later I lost my job....anyway.....  

We hit party City again to collect as much Yellow candy as we could. That place is so annoying making you count out all the candy. So we ended up just getting 2 per cup of about 4 different kinds of yellow candy. When I started to assemble, it wasn't enough. So we then hit Dollar Tree for more candy, because well...its Halloween season!!!

 Last, but not least is the food scape. Not pictured here are the kid snacks we had in the other room of chips and rice crispy treats that were tinted yellow.

 For dessert, a cousin of mine made some Emoji brownie cake pops, just for Madison. They were soooo good....I should have had her make MORE.

And lastly, Madison needed to have a cake to put candle in...of course...so I made a quick little Emoji face cake for her.

All in all, I feel the party went great. I decided to just do snack foods only this time, then panicked I didn't have enough, but it was fine. No one starved, the kids had a great time, and everyone remembered to take their party favors this time!!! WIN!!!





Links mention in the blog, and some others too:
Paris Themed Birthday Party
3LadybugCrafts on Facebook
3LadybugCrafts - Etsy Shop
Instagram @3LadybugCrafts
Twitter @hjsmoons

Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

Hey all!

If you follow me, you all may know that I live right across the river from Philadelphia...home of the famous cheese steak!!!  However, I have also been trying to find new twist on classic faves, that are just a tad bit healthier. Which led me to this.......the Cheese steak Stuffed Peppers.

Ingredients:

*Thin sliced steak (my grocery store  has packages of this steak that is almost roast beef thin, precut and only about $3 a package. For 5 peppers, I used 3 packages of steak, but should have used 4)
*Bell peppers
*Onions - sliced
*Shredded cheese of your choice (I am thinking this might be really good "wit" Cheese Whiz)
*Seasonings of your choice (I used seasoned salt and onion powder)

Directions:

1 - Cut the tops of the peppers off, and remote the seeds and inside core, so you just have a shell.  Place all of them inside a baking dish, to help them stand.
2 - Saute the steak, in a pan with a little cooking spray, and any seasonings you may want.
3 - Once steak is about halfway cooked, throw in sliced onions.  Saute all together, until fully cooked to your liking.

4 - Place a little cheese in the bottom of all the peppers.

5 - Place a layer on steak and onions over the cheese, Then top with cheese. Continue layering until the pepper shells are filled.

 6 - Bake in the oven at 375degrees until cheese is fully melted. Enjoy!!!

Places you can follow my adventures and crafts:
Facebook
Instagram @3LadybugCrafts
Etsy - 3LadybugCrafts

Newest items in the Etsy shop

Hey all!

Just wanted to introduce the newest item in the Etsy shop. Its actually been fun and calming for me.

I got the idea from something I saw in a discount store, that was being sold for only $3.00. Wow I can make those!!!   Ribbon hair ties!!

I started by making some for school spirit day in June, for my girls.

Right now in the Etsy shop, we have some cute owl hair ties for back to school. As well as some plain geometric ones for the older girls, who might like to wear these, but not want them so cutesy.

And last but not least, we are currently taking orders for customer NFL team hair ties.

So stop on by to see what we have new happening, and feel free to order your customer NFL hair ties, or any hair ties. Ones posted on the Etsy page are ready for immediate sale. Our FB page shows customer orders completed and in progress.

Etsy Shop - 3LadybugCrafts
Facebook - 3LadybugCrafts
Twitter account
Instagram - 3LadybugCrafts

Fall haul - Dollar Tree, Christmas Tree Shop, TJMax

Hey all!

I'm back!!! Its my most favorite time of the year, and I will have plenty to talk about. I will also have more time to post more, as I have been laid off from another job, but I will write more about that later.
Lets get to it -- FALL!!!!!

One day, a couple weeks ago, I decided to pop into The Christmas tree shop, just to see IF they had fall stuff out and they did!!

So we grabbed a few things. I didn't go crazy. And they weren't bad deals. first off is this large shallow bowl that can be used for pasta, fruit on the table or a centerpiece. It is plastic, but it was too pretty to bot buy.  $1.49

 Next I saw these gel cling stickers. I am not sure where to put them, but they were only $1.00.

 As we passed by these, I couldn't resist, for the Thanksgiving portion of the Fall. They were real towels and not that microfiber stuff that doesn't really absorb. And they were only $1.00 each. I HAD to.

 Now we only stopped at Christmas tree shop because it was on my way to the craft store. And of course, while I was in line, these were looking me in my face. $1.00

 Of course you can't go through Fall without treating yourself to a little Bath & Body Works. No big deals there, except for that soaps were $3, and I had a $10 off $30 coupon. NEVER go to BBW without a coupon. Coupons are Free!!!

 While on a Dollar Tree trip I grabbed these small glittery pumpkins, although I wasn't sure what I would do with them. Then, 10 minutes later, while at TJMax, I saw this gold stick pumpkin, and got this picture in my head. Stick pumpkin was $5.99, which is more then I would want to spend but I really was drawn to it for some some reason. Just like the set of 2 white ceramic pumpkin lights, I placed under the cake stand. I have been obsessed with white pumpkins this season. Again, more then I would have wanted to spend at $7.99 for the set of 3, but I treated myself.

 Another TJMax impulse buy..this...woodland creature. She was only $3.99, not too bad. But it has caused a Facebook war.....WHAT ANIMAL IS THIS???? I saw its a fox, but others say cat. Cats are not my thing, so if I felt it was a cat, I would not have bought it. What do YOU think. Comment below.

 I had these candle lanterns already, but didn't want to buy candles to put in them, for me to just not burn the candles. So I ran to Dollar Tree (yes, we have one IN town that I frequent) , and grabbed a $1.00 leaf garland, and here is the result. Those candles are LED and look pretty at night.

 Last but not least....my Walmart smelly stuff haul. This photo is pretty self explanatory. I again, could NOT resist. Fall here is for my house!! And these wax melts are so reasonable compared to other brands...$2.00 a pack. The candles, small jar is $1.00, that small/medium one on the right was $2.00 and although not pictured, they have 3 wick candles that vary from $3.33 to $4.99 and smell soooo wonderful.

I hope this helped inspire you Fall decor, or you bargain shopping for fall, or all of the above.
Be back soon with some more Fall Lovin Bloggin!!

Supporting my husband with MS ... or enabling him?

With my new job, has come some new changes in our family dynamic. I am home less and my husband is home more. However, I feel as though I am doing more then I did before. And it might just be that I am doing the same amount of chores, just in a smaller amount of time. And this frustration leads me to look at my husband and what HE is doing, while he is home all day.

First off, I want to precede with advising you all I am not blaming him or complaining. I would like to simply educate others in my same boat, and others with a diagnosis of MS....the family supporters you live with and care takers. Its a whole new life change for them as well. 

Below I will just show you how MY thought process goes, on a dialy basis. Its a mental and emotional things for us as well.

"I work all day, the kids are NOT in school, but he can sit there and not lift a finger all day?  Maybe he is having a bad day. I will just shut up, get the kids to help, and get this done myself so he doesn't have to think I am upset about it. Its not his fault."

The next day...


"I work all day, the kids are NOT in school, but he can sit there and not lift a finger all day? I let it go yesterday so he could relax. He hasn't gone out in the heat or exerted himself. WHAT is he doing all day? I don't fully understand, so I'll just  get this done myself so he doesn't have to think I am upset about it. Its not his fault."

Day 3...

" "I work all day, the kids are NOT in school, but he can sit there and not lift a finger all day? I let it go yesterday for a 2nd time. By now I am SURE he can muster up the energy to get SOMETHING done. A load of dishes can't possibly wear you out THAT bad. WTF?!?!  Why should I have to do it ALL?"

A little under my breath complaining, and then he gets up like he knows he is wrong and helps a little until I calm down....

"He obviously can tell its not fair to me that he can't help as much anymore. Is it fair to me to get mad? How do I know he isn't just milking this to get days of doing nothing? I can't do that even when I am sick.  I know I should just shut up and assume he is not having a good day every day, and eventually I will get used to it....like I'm a single mom. But if I just do everything for him, is that enableing him? Shouldn't I make him keep himself mobile and force him to learn new tricks at how to live with MS?"

After a small converstaion of letting him know that I think he is getting worse and he says he feels better? WHAT????  He admits that its the depression and he's going to try to force himself out of it.

"Here we go, I don't understand the physical aspect of depression. I know that he has a reason to be depressed. He needs his meds, although he thinks he doesn't. Do I know better than him in this case, as I have to live with the outcome of his moods?  Is it fair for me to judge him? Its not his fault. But I can't just let him mope around and not do anything. That will make his depression worse and will make his physical capabilities worse, which will make the MS worse."

As a caregiver or loved one living with someone with Multiple Sclerosis, its a constant battle for us too. We want to help, but also don't want the person to feel as though they are useless.
Its a constant fine line of learning what we need to push them on, and when we need to back off.

Please, talk to your spouse, loved one, or caregiver. Let them know how you feel, what you need from them, how they can help you. Don't forget that its a learning process for you BOTH.

Updates & new things happening

Hey all!!!

First off I wanna say Happy 4th of July!!! I know you might be wondering why I am blogging on a holiday? Well, we celebrated the last 2 days, so we are kinda of taking today off. Just gonna do the fireworks thing...if the rain hold out.

But I also had time to finally update you all. The Etsy shop has added a new item. I have added a few new social media outlets. And, yes I have been absent, but that's mostly because I got a new job, and the hubby hasn't been pretty good, so I've been doing a lot of house stuff as soon as I get done work.

New item in the Etsy shop are ribbon hair ties.  They can be customized, for orders of at least 2 or more. Ones that are posted, are ready for immediate sale/shipping. My daughters love wearing bows in their hair so..I thought, why not? I have done some hair bow holders int he past, and plan to do a few more in the upcoming months as well. Again, they will be able to be customized as well.

Along with the ribbons, we are now doing canvas art again. Below are a couple of canvas pieces we've done. The fish one, is for immediate sale. Again, customized requests are welcomed.

Along with new shop items, there is currently a Christmas in July sale going on my FB page and Etsy shop. I really need to get rid of some of my Christmas stock, to make room for this upcoming Fall/Winter season.
To help promote the shop and anything else that pops up I have also joined the Twitter world!! And I have finally joined Snapchat as well. the snapchat thing I am using as a daily vlog type outlet. I would like to start vlogging someday, but feel a little nervous. So thought I'd try it on Snapchat first to see what response I get.
I really hope you decide to join me in my journey. All links for all social media are below. Thank you for stopping by!

Facebook craft page - https://www.facebook.com/3ladybugcrafts/
Etsy Shop -- https://www.etsy.com/shop/3LadybugCrafts
Google+ -- https://plus.google.com/u/0/104635149469701589958/posts
Instagram,Twitter & Snapchat ---  @hjsmoons