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2/21 signiture

Creamy Chicken Alfredo

 

 

 

So, I finally got back into coupons....Yeah.... It just makes me happy. Well, I picked up some Progresso Recipe Starters, cause they looked so good and thanks to my coupons I got them next to nothing. So I came home a wanted to try them right away and they lead to success. Let just say Elizabeth asked for thirds.

 

 

 

And when all was said and done this is my true measure of success nothing left on their plates.

 

It was so easy and only took 30 Min. to get it to the table.

 

 

You will need:

1. Pasta
2. Boneless skinless chicken breast (I used 2 for just me and the kids)
3. 2 tablespoons of butter
4. 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped, I pressed it.
5. 1 can Progresso Resipe Starters Parmesan Basil
6. 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
7. 1/2 cup whipping cream
 
Directions:
 
1. Cook chicken in skillet with oil, season with salt and pepper and cook till center not pink.
2. Add butter and garlic, cook until garlic is softened.
3. stir in Recipe Starter and Parmesan cheese.
4. stir in cream, yum.
5. Add in pasta, isn't funny how kids love different kinds of pasta, Lizzy wanted bow ties.
6. Enjoy

 

 

This became a winner and will be added to my dinner routine.

 

 

Let me know how your family likes this dish. I hope you too have empty plates.

 

 

Disney Paperbag Scrapbook

 

I love scrapbooking and I always get lots of questions about scrapbooking. So, I wanted to share some of my scrapbooking tips along with one of my favorite scrapbooks with you.

 

Tip: Simplicity

 

One thing I like to do is to keep it simple. So that I don't over think it and get burnt out and then not want to scrapbook anymore. Scrapbooking has come along way, we went from like 2 aisles of scrapbooking supplies to half of the store. And although it's nice to walk into a store and have so many options. Sometimes too many option are overwhelming.

 

First. When shopping for supplies I like to keep it simple which also helps on my pocketbook. I love to by supplies that are versatile and go along way. Hence why I call my self a ribbon whore, I Love ribbon. Usually, I buy supplies like ribbon, buttons and jewels not in the scrapbook aisle but in the craft and notion sections, because I can get more for my buck.

 

Like I said options are overwhelming and can lead to not only over thinking but over paying. So a good example is my Disney book. There are lots of cute options for Disney scrapbooking. But I used mostly what I had on hand and only purchased one Disney embellishment for this project. I got these cute Mickey ear buttons that went perfectly with my paper.

 

Supplies:

 

Paper. Below you can see I used this cute bright paper that all goes together no over thinking. The paper is also very versatile it can be used for a boy, birthday, summer vacation or in my case a Disney trip.

 

Ribbon. I picked out a few ribbons that went with my paper from my vast supply. A good example of getting more for your buck is, I purchased Fun Fur Yarn in the knitting aisle. It was $1 for 64 yards and I love the texture it gives to my pages.

 

Tools. I keep my tools very simple. I love Color Box cat eye chalks they are my biggest secret. I use them on every scrapbook page I do, it gives anything that extra bling. I have a few basic paper punches, I mostly use my circle, square and corner rounder. My stapler is another one of my favorite things to use not only is it utilitarian to use it to staple ribbon to a page, but it adds an extra embellishment to my page.

 

Adhesive. I don't buy fancy scrapbooking adhesive. I love Beacon 3-in-1 glue it is the best for EVERYTHING. It is a liquid that is fast drying, it doesn't bubble the paper and it is super strong. I use pop dots to give a page some depth. Of course I already said my stapler.

 

 

So I took the above and turned it into this...

 

 

Paper bag Scrapbooks

They are my favorite kind of scrapbooks to do for many reasons:

 

1. Simplicity. I don't really do your typical 12by12 pages, they are over whelming and take a lot of supplies aka money to fill 1 page. I love small mini albums, your supplies go along way and you can quickly finish a project and enjoy it.

 

2.$$$. They are so cheap I buy a package of 100 paper bags for $3. I used four bags for this project that is 12 cents for this album.

 

3. Pockets. When you go to Disney you come home with all these trinkets that are special, but hard to include in a regular scrapbook. With a paper bag scrapbook you have pockets that are great to hold those special trinkets and extra photos.

 

 

Tip: Wallet Size Pictures

 

Now, because I usually do mini albums I like to print out wallet size pictures. I print them at home on my HP printer and instead of just getting one 4x6 picture I get two wallet size pictures. I love to save that $money$ where I can. Also, it keeps up on my simplifying trend, because there is no need to cut to crop my photos. I just print out my pictures and plug them into my album... easy.

 

 

Page 1 & 2

 

Notes: For this trip to Disney we got Elizabeth a autograph book which she had so much fun getting the characters autographs. While doing this scrapbook I wanted to include them. So I photocopied them and here on page 2 I include Mini Mouse's autograph in a flip out door.

 

Page 3 & 4

 

 

Page 5 & 6

 

Note: Here I included both our passports and autographs.

 

Page 7 & 8

 

 

Note: Here you can see that Fun Fur yarn I mention before I love the texture. I made pockets on these pages to hold some extra goodies. I made some autographs into tags by simply using my corner rounder and attaching ribbon to them with staples and brads.

 

Page 9 & 10

 

 

Note: I don't think I mentioned flowers in embellishment above. I always keep an eye out for them at a good price cause they look great on pages. One year I struck gold at the Creative Keepsake convention, the dollar booth had all kinds and used this opportunity to stock up. I love how the green one peeks out of the scrapbook.

 

Page 11 & 12

 

 

 Note: OK...OK I know this is a Disney book but we did go to SeaWorld on this trip, so I included it. Again I used my extra pictures and passport as tabs.

 

Page 13 & 14

 

 

Note: I love to use things like that fast passes, passports and autographs as embellishments.... they are easy on my pocket book and I love that.

 

Back Cover:

 

 

Note: It's one of my favorite parts of this album, cause I got to feature one of those awkward special trinkets. I attached the Toon Town button to the back cover.

 

I hope you enjoyed these tips to keep it simple and how to keep down the cost of scrapbooking. Let me tell you my kids LOVE this book they love how interactive it is. They don't just look at it they get to flip open doors and pull out hidden treasures. It is well loved and doesn't just sit on my bookshelf.

 

 

Have fun scrapbooking don't forget to share your scrapbook would love to see them.

 

Your Crafty Friend,

 

Desiree

 

14 Days of Love

 

So this year February has been so fun. I decided to do 14 Days of Love for my husband and kids. I went to the Dollar store and got some candy and wrote little notes on them. Every night I leave the treat on the table to surprise my family in the morning. They have loved it so much. I forgot to set out a treat the other night and my son woke me up and said "mom where's my love?"

 

 

Hope you have a great Valentine's Day.

 

Your Crafty Friend,

 

Desiree

 

Bow Tutorial

 

 

 

Here is the Bow Tutorial I promised you. They are very easy to make and most people will be envious of your bow making powers, but with great power comes great responsibility.

 

Supplies:

 

The best ribbon to use is wired ribbon, because its easily manipulated and holds its shape. For this bow I used a 8ft piece of  2" wired ribbon. I got this ribbon at Sam's Club after Christmas sale I love the black polka dots it goes with everything. Costco and Sam's ribbon is great, they come with 50yards at a reasonable price.

 

 

Here are a couple of notes before we get started:

 

1. Before you start there are two ways to finish this bow. One, you can use wire, and if you are using wire, you want to cut it before you start, cause it sucks to finish the bow and try to cut the wire with one hand. Trust me I've been there. Second, you can just make a knot with the tail of the ribbon.

 

2. While making the bow you are going to continually hold it together with your left hand.

 

Ok lets get started...

 

First. You will make a loop at one end of the ribbon. This will be the middle loop of you bow. Be sure to leave enough of a tail inside the loop to hold onto and secure later.

 

 

Second. This is now where I put my thumb through the middle loop and hold the bow together with my thumb and index finger till I'm done. With your right hand take the tail and give it a Twist, This ribbon is one sided so it requires you to twist it to get the right sided showing. If you have a two side ribbon you don't have to twist it.

 

 

then make a loop.

Now this ribbon is going to have four loops on each side. So generally I make the first set of loops the smallest. The second set of loops slightly bigger then the first. Then the third and fourth set are the same size and slightly bigger the second set.

 

 

 

Third. You will then take the tail and give it twist to have the right side of the ribbon showing and make the same size loop on the other side.

 

 

So her you have your first set of loops done.

 

 

Fourth. You will continue doing the same steps to make your second set of loops.

 

 

see how the second set is slightly bigger then the first set.

 

 

Fifth. Make your third set of loops.

  

 

Sixth. Make your fourth set of loops. I made the third and fourth set of loops the same size.

 

 

 

Here I'm showing you how I have been holding the ribbon and twists securely with my thumb and index finger.

 

Finishing your bow

Like I said before you can use wire or the tail of the ribbon to finish.

 

Wire Way you will feed the wire through the middle loop, where you have been holding the bow,wrap it around the back of your bow and twist it closed. Using wire makes it easy for you to attach the bow to items with the wire.

 

 

Tail Way you will take the tail of the bow

 

 

 and feed it up through the middle loop where you have been holding the bow.

 

 

once through the middle loop continue around to the back and tie it into a knot.

 

 

Pull the tail securely to make a tight knot.

 

 

Here is your beautiful finished bow. Now you can puff up the loops and make it look all pretty.

 

 

I used the remaining tail to tie the bow to my Heart/ Mason Jar Hanging. A bow just makes everything look more special. Now go forth and use your bow making powers to beautify the world.

 

 

 

 

Have fun putting bows on everything and don't forget to leave a comment.

 

Your Crafty Friend,

 

Desiree