Thrifty Yellow Chalkboard

Several weeks ago, I shared with you the day I gathered all my spray painting projects & got them all done at once. 

Click here to see that post.

I didn't quite finish this project that day because I wanted to paint the inside with some chalkboard paint. Well, I've finished it at last & given it a place of honour in our front entry. 

The frame was from a trip to the thrifty earlier this spring. It started out being ugly brown faux wood. 

I think it's actually plastic. 

A few coats of yellow spray paint - Krylon Bright Idea - and painting glass with chalkboard paint & it has a new lease on life! 

I also tried my hand at a little chalkboard art/doodle. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! 

What are some of the summer projects you're working on?

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Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

I just can't seem to get enough of trifles!

Have you noticed??

They're just such a perfect summer dessert - 

they're so fast & no baking or cooking is required if you buy a pre made cake. 

Or brownies in this case!

I made this trifle in place of a birthday cake for my husband's birthday barbecue a couple weeks ago. 

It was a huge hit!

Layers of chocolate custard, rich fudge brownies, & of course, Reece's peanut butter cups come together to make a sweet success.

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle {Print Recipe}

serves 10-12

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cup cold water

1 package chocolate pudding mix

2 cups whipping cream, whipped, but not sweetened (you could use Cool Whip too)

1 - 8x8" pan of brownies (pre made or try this recipe if you want to make your own), cut into bite sized pieces

36 regular sized Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped **See note below**

Combine sweetened condensed milk & water. Stir in pudding mix. Chill for 20 minutes. Fold in the whipped cream. 

Put about a cup of the pudding mix into the bottom of a trifle bowl. Start layering: Pudding, brownie, peanut butter cups. Repeat. Top it all off with some more peanut butter cups, because that's just awesome.

Refrigerate until you're ready to serve it.

**Instead of buying a bunch of regular candy bar packages of the peanut butter cups, I found little flats of 12 individually packaged "snack packs". Three of those babies ($2 each at Wal-Mart!) & this ingredient is taken care of!

Check out my other trifle creations by clicking on the titles below:

Strawberries & Cream Trifle

Strawberry Covered Chocolate Trifle

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

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Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Insta-Friday #26

Wow, it's Friday already! And first off, I have a question for you all: 

I just made up our next week's menu plan & was wondering... Is menu planning something that you do? If not, would it be something you would like some help with? Would you enjoy seeing a weekly menu plan on the blog with links to recipes?? I'm interested in your thoughts!

And now... welcome to another Insta-Friday! 

I filled you in on last weekend's festivities earlier this week & you can check out that post HERE.

Oh, and before we begin, you will see that I'm in serious like with the Rhonna Designs App. 

If you are an Instagramer, GO. BUY. IT. 

I think I like it because, for me, it's like creating a little scrapbook layout for every photo you use. 

After the big birthday barbecue on Saturday, Sunday was a quieter day. After church & my weekly Sunday afternoon nap, I got in some much needed creative time. Working on a card order was like therapy. Loveliness!

Monday morning brought us the first morning of a two week session of summer swimming lessons for the kids. I love the turquoise of the pool. It's such a refreshing sight every morning.

On Tuesday morning we had another beautiful morning at the pool...

After the kid's swim, we headed over to the gorgeously treed park across from the street from the pool. This is what a park should look like. The people who live near this park are so blessed to have such a lovely view! 

This park had an old school playground, complete with an old metal slide. 

Do you remember wearing shorts on these old slides when it was hot outside? Burnt legs!

"Awesomer" has long been a favourite word of mine & I use it often. So when I saw that Rhonna had used it in her app, it sure made me smile!

A big highlight of my day on Tuesday was the grand opening of our first two Target stores in Saskatoon! I have to say that I was really impressed! It was almost everything I had hoped for. 

Note to Target Canada: We need a scrapbook/craft isle! (I just took a moment to comment on their Facebook page before I forgot.) ;) The prices are a bit higher than Target U.S.A., but I expected that, since Canadian prices are always higher. I'm seriously looking forward to stalking the clearance sections in a few weeks. I'll be a regular, for sure!!!

My first trip to Target resulted in one purchase: a new shower curtain! And a chevron/hexagon shower curtain to boot. The greens match our green bathroom walls so perfectly! I had wanted to paint the bathroom for awhile now, but this shower curtain has breathed new life into this room & I love it again!

This week, I've really been working on getting exercise into each day. For too long I've been letting the days go by & thinking that things would magically come together "tomorrow". 

It was always tomorrow.

I'm getting real with myself & making physical activity a priority in my schedule. 

"If not now, When?" is my motto for this summer. 

I've even included it each day in my daily iPhone to-do list. 

I'm not letting the days slip by anymore before I make something of them!

Enjoying the Psalms...

On Thursday afternoon, we were planning to go to the pool with friends, but it was pouring rain. 

Plan B: Despicable Me 2 with friends. It was so cute & we all really enjoyed it. 

The songs at the end were my favourite. Laugh out loud funny!

When we got home from the movie, the sun had come out & it was hot & muggy.

We dug out some balloons from birthday parties gone by & made some water balloons! 

The kids got wet & I managed to stay out of the line of fire long enough to get some photos.

It's been a great summer week for us. I hope it has been for you too!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Tag Birthday Card

Hi everyone!

I hope your week is going well & you're enjoying your summer.

The kids started swimming lessons earlier this week, so we've been spending the morning at the pool everyday & will be until the end of next week. The weather has been beautiful & I'm enjoying the sun while I watch them swim.

Today's card was created with a variety of patterned papers from My Mind's Eye. I really like purchasing the 6x6 pads - they're perfect for card making! The patterns are a bit smaller & when I can find them at Winners & Homesense, the price cannot be beat!

I started by using strips of paper that had a simple notch cut into the bottom.

I used the alphabet stickers for a sentiment &

 added a bit more detail with some brads & baker's twine.

A trendy, colorful birthday card!

Products used:

• Cardstock - Michael's 
• Patterned Papers - My Mind's Eye
• Foam Letters - American Crafts
• Mini Letters - Making Memories
• Brads - American crafts (Large) & Basic Grey (Small)
• Baker's Twine - My Mind's Eye

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

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And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Summer Birthday Barbecue!

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend? Our Saturday was busy, but in a good way. Let me fill you in...

My husband turned 40 earlier this spring, but we wanted to wait to do a party outside. The date was set & the guests were invited! 

The party date arrived. It was raining. Boo! 

We prayed over the weather & got to our party preparations anyway.

The menu was simple - we provided the hot dogs & burgers & we asked our friends to bring the side dishes. I just love a pot luck! Everyone makes their favourite dishes & it takes so much pressure off of the host family!

As I said, we had the party outside, so I wanted to add a bit of colour to our green backyard. :)

The rain stopped a couple of hours before the party started (ours prayers worked!), so we were able to get things "prettied up" in plenty of time.

Some lanterns with brightly coloured candles, paper lanterns, Off! bug lanterns (which work really well, by the way), my chevron tablecloth from HomeSense, topped with a vintage wire basket for napkins & paper plates, & some bright turquoise buckets held the plastic utensils. I brought out my yellow vintage step stool & we set up a drink station with it. 

The guests arrived & we had a wonderful meal with them. I didn't make the same mistake this year that I did last year: making blended drinks for our guests that had me running the blender all night! 

I made plenty of fruity iced tea (a berry blend from Steeped Tea), combined it with frozen lemonade concentrate & some Sprite to add a bit of fizz. It was a great punch that was easy to throw together as the night went on. I was actually able to sit & visit with friends instead of being in the kitchen all night! It also helped that my friend, Krysta, took on dishwashing duty towards the end of the party & cleaned up all the leftover food as well! Thanks, Krys! 

Instead of a birthday cake, I put together some of my sweet husband's favourite flavours - chocolate & peanut butter - & made a summer friendly (no turning on the stove!) trifle! Recipe coming soon - stay tuned!

It was a great party & my husband's 40th birthday was definitely celebrated in style! 

Thanks to all our friends for coming & celebrating with us!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Insta-Friday #23, #24, #25

Another week of telling you the stories behind my Instagram photos! Three week's worth, this time! You may want to grab a coffee... ;)

Once our peonies started blooming it rained for days which means we didn't get a whole lot of time to enjoy them. In between the rain showers, I managed to get this shot.

After all the rain, the plants (and the weeds!) were growing profusely! And weeding was a super muddy job!

Skinny Strawberry Cream Fruit Dip

Summer is such a great time to fill your diet with fresh fruit. It's also a great option to have at a party or shower. Here's a great dip to include with your next fruit tray or just to have on hand for you & your family! 

It's low fat too so it's a guilt free treat!

Skinny Strawberry Fruit Dip

makes approx. 6 cups

2 envelopes Dream Whip or 4 cups low fat whipped topping

1 package strawberry jello mix

1 cup low fat strawberry yogurt 

Prepare Dream Whip according to package directions. In a separate bowl, prepare the jello  according to directions, but don't allow it to completely set. Only refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour - until thickened, but still a liquid. Fold jello & strawberry yogurt into the whipped topping. Refrigerate for 2 more hours, until thickened. 

Serve with fruit. 

Note: If it gets runny, you can whip it for 2 minutes on high & it will bring it right back to life!

Enjoy the fruits of summer!

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

or follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter. 

And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!

Shopping Bag Turned Gift Bag

 I always enjoy walking out of a store with a paper shopping bag. Especially these lovely turquoise bags from David's Tea. 

Besides that fact that you're getting some retail therapy, they are also so easy to upcycle to a pretty gift bag!

Start with the shopping bag, glue or an adhesive runner, a pretty patterned paper, & some handmade tissue paper flowers. {Find my tutorial here!} 

This Way To Birthday Fun!

Well, after a little blogging break to get settled into summer, I'm back!

Taking a break always usually helps me think of some creative posts to share with you & get fired up for my next project. Breaks are good. They are needed. But it's good to be back.

What have you been up to so far this summer?

~~~

Here's a fun birthday card that perfectly suited to a summer birthday party!

Insta-Friday #22

It's time for Insta-Friday - the time of the week when you hear the stories behind this week's Instagram photos. 

Last Friday was the first day of summer holidays for the kids. Exciting stuff, right? Yes! We had plans to start our 3rd annual park tour & go for frozen yogurt on the beautiful, sunny day... Ya, that would have been great except that... it rained all day. Blah. 

Plan B: Watch an old Disney movie with hot chocolate (in Disney mugs) & giant marshmallows. 

So, that's what happened instead.

Sunday: Father's Day. We spent the day celebrating the dad's in our lives. And I finally got a photo taken with my dad (it's been years)!

One of our kid's favourite things to do with wrestle & tickle with Daddy. Silliness abounds.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Butter Topping

It's berry season - strawberries, blueberries, blackberries - they're all over the grocery stores. I'm looking forward to them being ready for harvest around Saskatchewan!

In the meantime, we buy them at the grocery store & make lots of favourite goodies... like these!

Doily Birthday Card {Echo Park}

In the last several days, it's been raining cats & dogs here in Saskatoon. Today was the first day of sunshine since last week. Because of all the rain, we've been stuck inside. We've been doing alot of reading, playing games, watching movies, & doing crafts. I even got some scrapbooking in, which I haven't done in a long time. 

Sunshiny summer days call for bright, summery colours! 

This was a very fast card, made with a bunch of paper scraps.

Insta-Friday #21

School's out for the summer!!

Woot, woot! We're all really excited around here. 

We have all kinds of fun plans, most of them to take place around here since we're not venturing away from home for very long this summer.

Today was supposed to kick off our 3rd annual park tour (simple idea, but really fun: visiting a different park every week, preferably one that we've never played at before), but it's pouring rain here so that plan will have to wait until the gloomy weather clears up. 

Instead, we'll do some reading, play some games, & maybe bake some cookies.

~~~~~

On to the look at our week via Instagram...

Last Friday consisted of a lot of shopping - groceries, plus a whole bunch of gifts for birthdays, teachers, & Father's Day.

Here's where I ended up for the Father's Day gifts...

I'd never been in by myself. I was a little overwhelmed, but I think I picked out some great gifts.

On Friday night we went out for supper with some good friends. The very fun, laughter-filled evening was topped off by peanut butter pie (which was amazing!).

Boys Room Reveal!

The day is finally here! 

After giving myself the challenge of completing my son, Parker's, bedroom makeover by the end of May, bit by bit I got projects done & this past weekend we were able to put on the finishing touches. 

Let me show you around! Come on in!

This yellow-with-black-trim room was how it looked when we moved here 6 years ago. And wasn't my little guy cute when he was just 4? I just want to kiss those cheeks! (He's still cute, btw!)

When we moved here, we painted his room & replaced the flooring, but that's about it. 

Pink Lemonade Cookies

Ahhh... Summer...

Sunshine.

Swimming in the pool.

Vacations.

Lemonade stands.

Did you ever have a lemonade stand as a kid? 

I did. We weren't very successful as we lived on a q-u-i-e-t street in a small town. Plus, we probably drank all the lemonade. That can't help, right?

Maybe if we had made some of these cookies to sell along with our lemonade, we would have had more success! ☺

Insta-Friday #18, #19, & #20 (The late edition!)

Welcome to Insta-Friday... the late edition! 

It's been a few weeks since I've done one of these posts, so I have alot of photos to share.

Let's dive in!

Spring has brought such amazing weather here & I've been going on lots of walks to take advantage of it.