Sunday, February 22, 2015

16 Clever DIY Picks

One of our most popular Pinterest boards is our Clever Stuff board. We have everything from painted mason jars, to clever things do with toilet paper rolls and all those other things that when you see them you say "Duh, why didn't I think of that?" on it. There are so many clever bloggers out there with brilliant hacks and DIY's and this is our attempt to put all of this information in one place.

Here are 16 of our favorite pins from our board, a few are from our blog, but most are from other insanely clever bloggers. Thanks to all of the bloggers mentioned here for sharing your genius with the rest of us!

hacks, DIY's, Pinterest Picks, clever stuff

Pool Noodle door stop to keep your toddlers safe by Diana Mattoni


Use Toiled Paper Rolls to keep your Wrapping Paper neat and orderly from DIY n Crafts


Use an Empty Plastic Container to Elevate Candles and use less Vase Filler 


This is one of my favorites and it does work! Can't believe how easy it is to peel eggs with a spoon by Made By Pinterest


This is a new find and I can't wait to try it! Wrapping Paper Storage by Chic Site


I cleaned out the garage last weekend and used this to wrangle all the extension cords we had collected over the years - worked like a charm! Thanks Real Simple


This is an easy DIY that Mr. Crafty did for me a few years back. I was so tired of wrestling with my cookie sheets and cupcake tins and he figured out how to give me upright storage in our stock cabinets! So easy and keeps them all upright without sliding all over the place. Cookie Sheet Storage


This quick trick will save your Solar Lights when the batteries die by Kathe With an E


This trick really works! Who would have thought that Windex would Remove Stains from Carpet? Shabby Creek Cottage did!


Check out our Easy Jewelry Storage using cuphooks and dowels - Easy Jewelry Storage


This adorable Softball Wreath is our most repinned Pin on our Clever Stuff Board. 
The Pinterest Project hit it out of the park with this one!


I've used this idea for painting rice to use as vase filler and plan on making red, white and blue beans to use for July 4th this year. Easy DIY by Griffiths Rated


Do you have problems with keeping your cupcake liners from being crushed? Turn a breadcrumb container into liner storage - Crafty In Crosby Cupcake Liner Storage


What a clever use of all those little pots that bedding plants come in by Garden Maine


These painted spoons would be a great shower gift and are another popular pin on our board. Christina's Adventures has an easy tutorial on making your own.


And don't forget your Emergency Supplies! Kandy Kreations has a great way to keep them handy!




Who couldn't use some of these clever ideas to make your life easier? All of them are quick and easy and I'm sure that you will find at least one or two of these easy DIY's that will work in your life!

Check out our Pinterest Board - Clever Stuff for even more easy DIY's.


Wishing everyone a wonderful week! Stay warm and stay safe!


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Friday, February 20, 2015

Luck of the Irish Giveaway

March is a special month for us at Crafty In Crosby for several reasons. We started our blog in March of 2012 and our sweet boy Ty's birthday is St. Patrick's Day! So we have lots to celebrate and thought we would join in on this huge Luck of the Irish Giveaway organized by  A Peek Into My Paradise.

Three prizes of $500 each - Wow! How's that for a Blogiversary Giveaway? Please share this with your friends and readers. Sure would love for one of our readers to win one of the pots of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Scroll down to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway and visit some of the great blogs participating in this amazing giveaway!

Good Luck to you and May all the Irish Angels smile upon you all your days!

Luck of the Irish Giveaway | APeekIntoMyParadise.com #paypalcash #cash #giveaway #stpatricksday

#LuckOfTheIrishGiveaway

May your pockets be heavy | APeekIntoMyParadise.com #StPatricks #giveaway

"May your pockets be 

heavy...."

with MONEY

*CASH PRIZE of $1,500!

ENTER TO WIN!

*Three winners of $500 each

Luck of the Irish Giveaway | APeekIntoMyParadise.com #giveaway  #paypalcash #win
A HUGE thank you to the 84 amazing blogger friends of
A Peek Into My Paradise for giving YOU
the chance to "make your pockets heavy"
Luck of the Irish Giveaway | APeekIntoMyParadise.com #giveaway #blogger #paypalcash #cash
♥ Cathy | A Peek Into My Paradise ♥ Christie | Sparkles of Sunshine ♥ Rose | What Rose Knows ♥ Rhonda | Mother 2 Mother ♥ Ashley | Leaving The Rut ♥ Sharon | Her Organized Chaos ♥ Jeanne | Animal Bliss ♥ Christina | Mama's High Strung ♥ Kim | Enjoy The View ♥ Jeanette | Crafty In Crosby ♥ Anyonita | Anyonita Nibbles ♥ Melanie | Mommy Mentionables ♥ Erika | MakeUp Fun ♥ Angie | God's Growing Garden ♥ Emily | 8th Street Bridge ♥ Shana | Technotini
Luck of the Irish Giveaway | APeekIntoMyParadise.com #giveaway #blogger #paypalcash #cash♥Amy | Love Amybecca ♥ Katherine | Katherine's Corner ♥ Maureen | Organically Mo ♥ Kimberly | Lou Lou Girls ♥ Cynthia | Feeding Big ♥ Barb | Second Chance to Dream ♥ Paula | Thrifty Mommas Tips ♥ Lindi | Love, Create, Celebrate ♥ Edna | Thoughts of Happiness ♥ Lisa | Condo Blues ♥ Emily | Nap-Time Creations ♥ Heidi | Heidi's Wanderings ♥ April | House By Hoff ♥ Debra | MsMoozy Open House ♥ Ida | Second Chances Girl ♥ Roberta | Mommy Like Whoa
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♥ Jessica | Live Randomly Simple ♥ Roxanne | The Honeycomb Home ♥ Logan | Logan Can ♥ Shane | Whispering Sweet Nothings ♥ Natasha | Epic Mommy Adventures ♥ Lindsay | My Creative Days ♥ Cat | Thinking Outside The Box ♥ Maria | Simple Nature Decor ♥ Nicole | Pharr Away ♥ Lindsay | Wedding Rings to Teething Rings ♥ Laura | Pies & Plots ♥ Evelyn | My Turn For Us ♥ Kelly | Mum-bo-Jumbo ♥ Lauren | Mom Home Guide ♥ Cassie | Little Red Window ♥ Alyssa | Piece of Home
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♥ Sarah | Earning and Saving With Sarah ♥ Sonia | Babushka's Baile ♥ Karren | Oh My Heartsie Girl ♥ Beverly | Eclectic Red Barn ♥ Kristen | A Mind "Full" Mom ♥ Jennifer | Brass & Whatnots ♥ Alice | A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen ♥ Charlene | A Pinch Of Joy ♥ Nici | Posed Perfection ♥ Candace | Candace Creates ♥ Dina | Savvy in the Kitchen ♥ Laura | Not A Trophy Wife ♥ Kim | Made In A Day ♥ Michelle | The Painted Hinge ♥ Ann | Ann Again and Again Reviews ♥ Mary | Just Plum Crazy
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♥ Brittany | Mommy on Demand ♥ Emily | My Love for Words ♥ Kimberly | Life Is A Lullaby ♥ Stephanie | Managing A Home ♥ Linda | Crafts a la Mode ♥ Jillian | Baby Doodah ♥ Nikki | MBA sahm ♥ Emily | Our House Now A Home ♥ Jodi | The Noise Of Boys ♥ Ronda | Kitchen Dreaming ♥ Sarah | Life In A Breakdown ♥ Heather | Mommy Only Has 2 Hands ♥ Bianca | Little Mommy Nest ♥ Gina | Money Savvy Living ♥ Mel | Melly Moments ♥ Ce Ce | A Chicago Mom
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♥ Rabia | The Lieber Family Blog ♥ Lisa | Cool Coatz Graphics ♥ Nicole | Nibbles By Nic ♥ Dana | Chocolate and Sunshine ♥ Cathy | Three Kids and a Fish

Please be sure and thank the team of amazing bloggers who joined me to offer this phenomenal cash prize! I encourage you to hop over and take a peek into their paradise!

May good luck pursue you each day and night! Happy St. Patricks Day from all of us to you!

Luck of the Irish Giveaway | APeekIntoMyParadise.com #giveaway #stpatricksday #paypalcash #win


Giveaway is open worldwide to participants with a verified PayPal account.
Three entries will be drawn for $500 PayPal Cash to each of the three winners.
All entries will be verified. In the event an entry can not be verified participant chooses to forfeit that entry and another winner will be chosen.
Winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email.
Giveaway will run from February 20, 12AM PDT Time to March 17, 11:59PM SDT.
Any taxes or fees associated with the winnings of this contest are the sole responsibility of the winner according to their county, state and/or country laws.
CASH prize is in US Dollars and will not be converted to any foreign currency.
Void where prohibited by law.



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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

St. Patrick's Day Printable

Last December we added two large candle holders above the mantel and while I love the color and style, we've had to adjust the scale of all the decorations sitting on the mantel. We put out the St. Patrick's day decor on Sunday and I realized that the Irish Blessing Printable from last year would be too big. I couldn't find anything I liked on Pinterest, but found this saying via Google and with the help of PicMonkey, we had just the right size for our mantel.

Irish Blessing, Irish Angels, Angels, Leprechauns, Ireland, Printables

Just perfect for St. Patrick's Day and looks great on the mantel.

Irish Blessing, Irish Angels, Angels, Leprechauns, Ireland, Printables

Here's the printable for you to use, just print, cut on the black line,
place it in your frame and you have an instant Irish decoration for just pennies.

Irish Blessing, Irish Angels, Angels, Leprechauns, Ireland, Printables


Irish Blessing, Irish Angels, Angels, Leprechauns, Ireland, Printables

Leprechauns and Irish Angels - what a perfect combination. Hope you can find a place in your home for a little bit of Irish charm!


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Sunday, February 15, 2015

St. Patrick's Day Coffee Filter Wreath


Well, it's February 15th, so down with the Valentines Day decorations on up with St. Paddy's Day! The coffee filter wreath has been decorated with shamrocks and the banner from last year is back up.

Interchangeable Wreath, March 17, St. Paddy's Day, St Patricks Day, Easy Holiday Decorating

Here's what the coffee filter wreath looked like all decorated for Valentines - 


The Shamrocks are hot glued on to a piece of twine and each end is hot glued on to a toothpick. Then just stick the picks in the styrofoam wreath form. That way they can easily be removed so it can be decorated for the next holiday!

Interchangeable Wreath, March 17, St. Paddy's Day, St Patricks Day, Easy Holiday Decorating

The wreath is very simple, but festive with the swag of shamrock's - don't you think?

I still love last year's shamrock banner and think it will be around for several more years. The shamrocks were made from a heart punch and we used paper straws to thread the string through - still one of my favorites! Last year's post has a complete list of supplies and a detailed tutorial - St. Patrick's Day Banner

Interchangeable Wreath, March 17, St. Paddy's Day, St Patricks Day, Easy Holiday Decorating, Banner,

Interchangeable Wreath, March 17, St. Paddy's Day, St Patricks Day, Easy Holiday Decorating

Interchangeable Wreath, March 17, St. Paddy's Day, St Patricks Day, Easy Holiday Decorating


Hope everyone is staying warm and safe as the next round of nasty storms rolls in to Northeast. We have lots of family in Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas and I know they are all battening down the hatches. Praying that everyone makes it through with minimal issues. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!


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Wednesday, February 11, 2015

A Happy Chalkboard Discovery

Leigh and I started the Whole 30 eating plan in January and Leigh decided that we needed a mint plant to use in our cooking now and to flavor our water. So being the best Mom ever......except for my Mom, of course.....I rushed out and got one for her. I've slowly been replacing all the pots on our patio with terracotta and just love the brownish ones that Wally World has had for the past several years.

So last night, we finally got around to potting it up and I had a lightbulb moment! I grabbed a piece of chalk and look what happened -

chalkboard, terracotta pot, no paint chalkboard
 Terracotta is the perfect chalkboard! Wipes right off and takes the chalk perfectly! 
No painting necessary.

chalkboard, terracotta pot, no paint chalkboard

chalkboard, terracotta pot, no paint chalkboard

chalkboard, terracotta pot, no paint chalkboard

Leigh's little gnome looks right at home and just like it was "Mint 2 B". LOL! Seriously though, isn't it adorable and he looks right at home lounging around under the mint. Now all the pots on the patio are going to be sporting a chalkboard quote of some kind since chalkboard is my latest obsession. And the best thing about this is that didn't cost a thing to turn it into one!

Hoping everyone is having a very wonderful week! We're halfway there!

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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

We Survived Whole 30

A Story by Leigh

Okay, I said survived, but it wasn't all that dramatic. We did all 30 days with no cheating at all. Well, Mom said she had like 3 pieces of gum, so I win!

If you aren't familiar with the program, the basics are:

  1. Things you can eat: meat, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, some oils, and some dried fruit.
  2. Things you may not eat: sugar, fake sugar, legumes, dairy, and grains.
Check out the Whole 30 website for more details.

So blah blah rules. I know what you really want to know. How was it? I'll tell you!

I actually did make notes for each day during the first week about how I was feeling and what was going on with my body. There were quite a few expletives though, so I won't share all that with you, but I'll give you a run down of the weeks.

Week 1: 
  • Day one was weird. I felt weird. Kind of flighty I guess? Don't really know how to explain it. 
  • Day two and three I was supremely cranky. Wanna know why? I MISSED MY COFFEE. Sorry for shouting, but truly, I missed it. I tried to have it with coconut milk and it was absolutely terrible, so I gave up after 4 days and went without any caffeine for 6 more days. 6 days people! That's like, and eternity! I was used to drinking 3-5 cups a day with creamer and sugar. Well, I decided I missed coffee too much and decided to give it a try black and I liked it! So now I drink my coffee black. I even tried it today with half & half and it was just meh. I'll be drinking it black from now on.
  • Also, we tried some awesome recipes and found that we didn't miss carbs quite as much as we thought we would.
 

Week 2: 
  • Alright, so during week 1 I had this terrible dry mouth. It was horrendous and it made my breath smell awful. I was drinking 5-6 bottles of water a day, so I wasn't sure what to do. I let it go on for too long, so I did a little research. Seems like many people have this experience too and some even had advice. Most of the advice was to add more starchy vegetables in. I did that, but I didn't want to completely overdo it on starch. The other advice was taking magnesium. I thought, alright I'll try it. And I decided if I was going to take magnesium, I might as well take a multivitamin. All of this seemed to help. I still have some days that aren't great, but for the most part, the dry moth seems to be under control.
  • More awesome recipes! I made Chocolate Chili and riced some cauliflower to put in it because dad doesn't eat enough veggies. You couldn't even tell! And he loved it!
  • I noticed that I was sleeping more. Well, I required more sleep to function. I was sleeping about 6-7 hours a night. Now I need 8-9. Yeah, you read that right. I can remember before I was so hardcore with coffee that I would need that much sleep. Mom said she noticed that she was sleeping much better too.

Week 3: 
  • Now here comes the good part. I was able to tell that my clothes were a bit looser. I was feeling great. My moods were even. No more crankypants Leigh in the morning. I am happier. Foods taste better. Awesome week.
 

Week 4:
  • Doing great, feeling great. Bought a magazine by Melissa Joulwan over at The Clothes Make the Girl that has some awesome ideas and recipes in it. You should definitely check out her blog if you haven't already.
  • So at this point we are talking about adding stuff back in. Mom doesn't think that she has a complete control over her carb addiction, so we talked and decided to add back in only dairy and legumes. We still have a couple days after this week, but we were so excited that we wanted to prepare.

Week 5:
  • There were only 2 days left and we were SO excited! We made it almost the WHOLE 30! And one of these days was my birthday! I turned 28 on Monday and felt great!
  • You want to know what I was really excited about? Half & Half in my coffee.
  • My pants are falling off. I feel awesome!

Day 31: 
  • We weighed in today! I lost 8.3 and mom lost 9! Go us! We rock!
  • I had half & half in my coffee. Guess what? I would prefer it black. I know, I was shocked too!
  • I went out to lunch for my birthday with a friend and I had a chip in queso and wasn't impressed with that either! Maybe cheese is just not for me? I don't know, but it was nice going out and not feeling those cravings anymore!


So are you going to continue this?

Hell yeah we are! This is Day 1, Whole 30 #2. Well, we are allowing some dairy and some legumes. And I won't lie to you, we are celebrating my birthday at work on Friday, so I will be having sugar for the first time in 34 days. That should be interesting to say the least.

Closing Thoughts:

I really wasn't 100% sure that we could do it, but we did! This eating plan isn't for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of planning and commitment to the kitchen. I was already spending about an hour in the kitchen every night. After Whole 30, mom and I were both spending an hour in the kitchen every night. Melissa Joulwan has some great tips in her magazine about prepping for the week on Sunday, We are going to try some of those out this week.

The first week is the hardest, but if you put your mind to it, you can totally do this! You will rock it! Your mind will be clear! You will kill your cravings! You will feel awesome!

In my humble opinion, this plan is for everyone who is willing to put in the work. If you decide to take it on, let us know how it goes! We would love to hear from you.

Good luck!





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