Tuesday, July 23, 2013

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. 




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!


Monday, July 22, 2013

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:






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Enjoy your day!




Friday, July 19, 2013

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!

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Enjoy your day!





Wednesday, July 17, 2013

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

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Enjoy your day!



Monday, July 15, 2013

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


Enjoy your day!





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