October 2023

So, I was in Cracker Barrel the other night.  We go there for the food, of course, but I want to go there sometime by myself just to shop.  I always have my crazy kids running around playing with their toys and begging for candy.  But they actually have adorable, adorable decor for different holidays and seasons!
I was inspired to create a little printable for you to frame and display by an awesome glittery wooden sign they had for sale.  So, thanks for the maple syrup and inspiration, CB!  

I printed mine out and Mod Podge-d it to an 8×10 canvas.  Then I used Krylon Glitter Blast spray paint in two thin coats over the top to give it a little sparkle!  (It’s hard to see in the photos, though).


You can print this up to an 8×10.  Heck- it might be a cute little card to give your husband.  Because really, this is saying something!   Click here to download and print.  (Colors vary slightly due to differences in computer screens and printers).

I will be linking this up to some of these parties- come check them out with me!


See what else I’m pinning for fall by following my “Falling into Fall” board.


Follow Occasionally Crafty (Valerie)’s board Falling into Fall on Pinterest.

Connect with us! You can find us here:

Welcome to the Spring Fling Series!  We are thrilled to be kicking off the week with two sisters, just like us, from one of our favorite blogs- Lolly Jane!  We absolutely LOVE their style and creativity!  I’ve been a guest over there, and I’ve even had the chance to meet these two in person- and they are so fun and so nice!  So- without further ado, let’s get this thing started! Hi there Occasionally Crafty readers, we are so excited to be visiting these cute blog sisters today and thrilled to be part of their new Spring Fling series! Today we’re going to share our pom pom spring banner:
To quickly introduce ourselves, we’re twin sisters Kelli and Kristi from Lolly Jane, our DIY/home improvement blog where we share tips for painting and redoing furniture, holiday crafts, creating home decor on a budget and once in a while, we’ll even share some tasty desserts along the way.

And every so often you will see our older sis Sandee (we’ve nicknamed her our manager since she coordinates our quarterly craft nights) on LJ, like today! We love her style and are happy she let us raid her house to share her pom pom burlap bunting that we will soon be knocking off (; It’s easy peasy to create and is oh-so-springy and fun!

To get started you’ll need a few yards of burlap, scrap fabric (hers is from Hobby Lobby) pom poms and hot glue. If you’re like us, you probably already have these supplies in your craft stash (;

Simply cut the burlap into a pendant shape and fold; cut the fabric slightly smaller (feel free to use our template provided above, although we free handed ours. Perfectly imperfect! LOL) String some bakers twine between the fold of the bunting then hot glue the pom pom strand across the whole bunting. Simple but makes the space so cheery!

Sandee’s mantel is super cute paired with our Shanty-inspired apothecary jars, framed eighteen25 printable, our foam Easter egg sign and Kelli’s recent bunny thrift store find. Sandee and I both tried to bribe her to snag that bunny but she’s playing for keeps! Tag along with us on Instagram to see our other thrifty finds and if you’re looking for cute and inexpensive holiday and seasonal creations to spruce up your space, feel free to pop by Lolly Jane anytime! You can also find us on FB and Pinterest- we would love to see you (:

A big thanks to Val & Laura for letting us guest today! Happy spring, everyone! xo

Thanks ladies!  That banner is seriously adorable- and I must make one RIGHT NOW!  We are truly honored to have you here on the blog today!


Now, it’s time to announce our Spring Fling Giveaway.  Some of our favorite companies and sponsors have teamed up to offer you $200 worth of goodies!





1.  $50 to Cutting Edge Stencils towards the stencil of your choice
2.  10 Coordinating Vintage Sheet Fat Quarters from The Sheet Shop
3.  Mud Pie Infant Outfit (0-6 mos) with matching headband from BowMama Hairbows
4.  13 Color Bakers Twine Pack from Very Jane
5.  $40 Gift Card to your choice:  Michael’s, Target, or Hobby Lobby


To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter entry form below. It will be open all week, until Sunday night at midnight.  I know that there are a TON of entries, but we have them because entering the giveaway not only shows these companies you love their products, but also supports all our Spring Fling Series Guest Posters.  So, go show them some love and enter yourself to win some awesome stuff in the process.  (And we wouldn’t mind if you shared this with your friends!)


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Good luck and make sure you drop by later today to learn more about the prizes being offered!




Connect with us! You can find us here:

** This is a sponsored post.  I have been compensated with product from this company in return for a full and honest review.  All opinions herein are my own.**
We’re checking in from our summer break because a really fun company (one that I am a big fan of!) contacted us to do a review.  If you haven’t heard of Paparazzi Jewelry yet, you NEED to know all about it.
Paparazzi  is a fairly new company that sells cute and trendy jewelry and accessories for only $5!  There are fun items for women of every age, and their products include necklaces, earrings, bracelets, headbands, hair clips, and more.   A great part of this company is their “Starlet Shimmer” line, which is geared towards younger girls and includes bracelets, rings, earrings, and headbands.
You can purchase the jewelry through direct sales associates, whom I’ve often found at craft fairs or hosted parties.  Another great option is purchasing online, which is a lifesaver for people like me.  I have three kids and two of them are boys that hate shopping.  So, going online to buy cute jewelry is awesome!  If this sounds like an option you’d be interested in, check out Paparazzi Accessories at www.DebsJewelryShop.com
Some of my favorite items are this Blue Turquoise Necklace

This awesome Silver Flower Ring

And this Gold Circle Cuff

Now, if you need to earn some extra income, becoming a Paparazzi Consultant is a great business opportunity!  Here are a few great reasons to work with Paparazzi:
1.  All the items are $5!  That is a great selling point.  You can’t buy jewelry anywhere for cheaper.  Women can afford it and they LOVE the selection!
2.  This company is still fairly new!  It’s possible to be the only consultant in your area.  That means you’ll have great demand when people find out you sell jewelry for only $5!  It’s also a great way to build a team and be a leader.
3.  You get 45% commission!  That means for each piece you sell, you make $2.25.  That’s going to add up FAST!  And, when people join your team, you make 5-10% of what they purchase through the Paparazzi website.  It adds up quickly as well!
You can sell Paparazzi just about anywhere:  Home parties, office visits, basket parties, fundraisers, boutiques, fairs and festivals, in retail stores, at your home, and even by trade! 
I personally own quite a few pieces of Paparazzi jewelry, and I love how they add a little style to my wardrobe.  I can’t say they last forever, as I’ve had a few break after several months of wearing them, and one of the rings did tarnish quickly.  Still, for $5, I’m thrilled to find fashionable and affordable pieces to complement my wardrobe. I always get excited when I find someone selling them, and am sure you will have the same experience.
So, if you’re looking to make ends meet, or just bring in a little extra money for your family, consider becoming a Paparazzi Consultant.  I’ve heard nothing but good things from anyone who has worked with this company.  Good luck, and enjoy!
Connect with us! You can find us here:

I love to make printables!  Some of them make it to the blog, and some I just create for my own personal use.  I usually make them in PicMonkey or Publisher, but each of them has its limits.  A few months ago, a friend tipped me off that you can create your own printables using Silhouette Studio! 



This is huge- because not only do I have lots of cute shapes I’ve purchased, but I can use any font on my computer, and I can play with  those fonts to fit and fill the space as necessary!  If you haveStudio, and you like to make printable quotes, invitations, or anything, a few quick steps will have you creating your own in no time flat!


1.  Make sure you have downloaded the latest version of the software.  I have the Designer Edition, so my screen may look a little different, but you can do all the same things in the regular edition.


2.  Download a PDF printer to your computer.  I use CutePDF, though there are several out there.
3.  Start creating!  I’ll show you how I made these cute invitations for my daughter’s birthday party.

— Open a new document.
— Resize your page to whatever you’ll be creating.  I generally make my printables 8×10 so people can print them up to that size.  It makes great quality for smaller prints.  I put mine 10×8 so it is in “landscape” mode.
— Add a rectangle for your background using the rectangle shape tool.  Then, using the fill tool, fill that rectangle with your desired background color.

— Add any images you want.  You can purchase shapes from the Silhouette store, other .svg sites, or simply import a .jpg or .png file from the internet and trace it.  (Tracing is a whole other subject I’ll have to save for another day)

— Use the text tool to add text as desired. 
–Select your text and use the fill tool to add your desired color to the text.

–This last step is really important.  Silhouette Studio is for cutting files, but we don’t want to do that for a printable.  So, make sure you select the cut lines menu, then choose transparent.  Now they won’t show up when you print!
4.  Once your document looks the way you want it, you’re going to send it to that PDF printer you downloaded.  Go to File–>Print, then choose the PDF printer.

5.  It will ask you to save it somewhere on your computer.  Rename the file and save it somewhere you’ll be able to find it.

6.  Once it saves, navigate to that file location, and you should see a PDF file waiting for you!  From there, you can open it and print it on a home computer, or you can use a pdf converter program to change to to a .jpg for printing at a photo lab.
 The quality is not the best on this image because it’s been edited about three times for the post, but the actual invitations are crystal clear and fabulous!  Once I know the time of the movie, I can finish these babies up and get them sent out! Remember, you can follow this process for printable quotes, cupcake wrappers and toppers, and more!

I’m linking this up to Tatertots and Jello (Link Party Palooza) and some of these parties- come check them out with me!

Connect with us! You can find us here:

Welcome to the Spring Fling Series!  We are thrilled to be kicking off the week with two sisters, just like us, from one of our favorite blogs- Lolly Jane!  We absolutely LOVE their style and creativity!  I’ve been a guest over there, and I’ve even had the chance to meet these two in person- and they are so fun and so nice!  So- without further ado, let’s get this thing started! Hi there Occasionally Crafty readers, we are so excited to be visiting these cute blog sisters today and thrilled to be part of their new Spring Fling series! Today we’re going to share our pom pom spring banner:
To quickly introduce ourselves, we’re twin sisters Kelli and Kristi from Lolly Jane, our DIY/home improvement blog where we share tips for painting and redoing furniture, holiday crafts, creating home decor on a budget and once in a while, we’ll even share some tasty desserts along the way.

And every so often you will see our older sis Sandee (we’ve nicknamed her our manager since she coordinates our quarterly craft nights) on LJ, like today! We love her style and are happy she let us raid her house to share her pom pom burlap bunting that we will soon be knocking off (; It’s easy peasy to create and is oh-so-springy and fun!

To get started you’ll need a few yards of burlap, scrap fabric (hers is from Hobby Lobby) pom poms and hot glue. If you’re like us, you probably already have these supplies in your craft stash (;

Simply cut the burlap into a pendant shape and fold; cut the fabric slightly smaller (feel free to use our template provided above, although we free handed ours. Perfectly imperfect! LOL) String some bakers twine between the fold of the bunting then hot glue the pom pom strand across the whole bunting. Simple but makes the space so cheery!

Sandee’s mantel is super cute paired with our Shanty-inspired apothecary jars, framed eighteen25 printable, our foam Easter egg sign and Kelli’s recent bunny thrift store find. Sandee and I both tried to bribe her to snag that bunny but she’s playing for keeps! Tag along with us on Instagram to see our other thrifty finds and if you’re looking for cute and inexpensive holiday and seasonal creations to spruce up your space, feel free to pop by Lolly Jane anytime! You can also find us on FB and Pinterest- we would love to see you (:

A big thanks to Val & Laura for letting us guest today! Happy spring, everyone! xo

Thanks ladies!  That banner is seriously adorable- and I must make one RIGHT NOW!  We are truly honored to have you here on the blog today!


Now, it’s time to announce our Spring Fling Giveaway.  Some of our favorite companies and sponsors have teamed up to offer you $200 worth of goodies!





1.  $50 to Cutting Edge Stencils towards the stencil of your choice
2.  10 Coordinating Vintage Sheet Fat Quarters from The Sheet Shop
3.  Mud Pie Infant Outfit (0-6 mos) with matching headband from BowMama Hairbows
4.  13 Color Bakers Twine Pack from Very Jane
5.  $40 Gift Card to your choice:  Michael’s, Target, or Hobby Lobby


To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter entry form below. It will be open all week, until Sunday night at midnight.  I know that there are a TON of entries, but we have them because entering the giveaway not only shows these companies you love their products, but also supports all our Spring Fling Series Guest Posters.  So, go show them some love and enter yourself to win some awesome stuff in the process.  (And we wouldn’t mind if you shared this with your friends!)


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Good luck and make sure you drop by later today to learn more about the prizes being offered!




Connect with us! You can find us here:

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SilkSipToSpoon #CollectiveBias

Well, those holiday pounds snuck up on me pretty quickly.  How about you?


I’ve been working to get them off by being part of a fun, 60-day healthy living challenge.  I did this last January, lost ten pounds, and felt great!


By far, the hardest thing for me to give up in this challenge is my rolls and muffins.  So I set out to create a recipe that I can eat, and that would be perfect for anyone trying to make good food choices.


These  Strawberry Banana Muffins have substance and flavor, making it a perfect choice for breakfast or a midday snack!  While not overly sweet, it will satisfy those cravings that are hard to overcome.


Note- these are not a low-calorie choice.  Rather, they use better-for-you ingredients and are a better choice than a typical sweet muffin.



To make these you will need the following ingredients  (printable recipe at the bottom of the post)


2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (I like white whole wheat)
3/4 cup Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs, beaten
2 oz butter or canola oil
6 sliced strawberries


I love using Silk Almond Milk in these and other muffins- mainly because it’s an easy way to make something dairy-free.  Plus, it is lactose-free, has no cholesterol and no saturated fat, and has 50% more calcium than dairy milk.  I was a little scared to try it the first time, but it’s not nutty at all!  It has a smooth texture and delicious flavor, which makes it a perfect substitute in pretty much any recipe!


If you want to try some Silk products for yourself before buying, there are some  Silk Almond Half Gallon and Yogurt with Produce Demos happening at Walmart from 1/21-1/24 (this week!).  So stop by one of these stores and give it a try!


I actually bought my Silk Almond Milk as well as some Silk Dairy-Free Yogurt to try from the dairy case at Walmart.



When you get your ingredients together, start by mashing your banana in a bowl, then adding the brown sugar, almond milk, eggs, and oil or softened butter.  Mix together until smooth.




Then, add your dry ingredients:  flour, cinnamon, and baking powder.  Mix together until combined, but don’t overmix or your muffins will be tough!



Line a muffin tin with paper liners, then spoon your batter into the cups.  They should be about 2/3 full.  Top with slices of strawberries- or you can even push them into the batter to cook inside the muffin.





Let bake for about 15-18 minutes at 375 degrees, then let them cool on a baking rack.

.


In addition to these muffins, I like to occasionally have the Silk Dairy-Free Yogurt for a nutritious snack.  Again, it is an excellent source of calcium and Vitamin D, which are things I need with my rheumatoid arthritis.  And I was really surprised by how good it is!  I expected non-dairy yogurt to have a funny taste or be dry- but it is smooth, creamy, and flavorful!

Don’t mind my post-workout sweaty hair.

2 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup almond milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 oz butter/oil
6 sliced strawberries
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cases. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the banana, butter, milk and eggs together until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together until completely smooth. If batter is too thick, add more almond milk and stir.  Spoon into the muffin cases and top with slices of strawberries. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let the muffins cool on a cooling rack then store in an airtight container.




If you like recipes like this one, make sure you check out tons more recipes that Swap Milk for Silk here! 

I did it!  I finished my family reunion pictures and moved on!  I don’t know if anybody actually looks at these, but posting my scrapbook pages here at least keeps me motivated.  I have done about 10 pages in the last week, but I am still about a year and a half behind. 2009 was a big year for us- we took three trips and had a baby, so there is a lot to document!

Anyway- on to this week’s layout.  I got this layout idea from Scrap Girls.  I like the idea that your title can go anywhere- it can be any direction, and in any spot (that makes sense) on your page.  So often I find myself putting the title in the same three places- across the top, across the bottom, or up the side.  It’s fun to play around with it a little.

UPDATE:  GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED


I’m not exactly a style maven.
I pretty much wear jeans and a shirt.  Very often that shirt is a t-shirt.
I’m all about comfy clothes.  If they are also cute and stylish, well that is a bonus.
If you’re like me, or you actually ARE a style maven, you’re going to love LuLaRoe.

My friend Amy introduced me to their clothes, and I even got to try out one of their cute tops.
Here’s what she wants you to know about LuLaRoe:

• LuLaRoe sells stylish, comfortable and unique clothing! They sell a variety of styles of skirts, shirts, dresses and leggings. 
• LuLaRoe is set apart by the unique designs on the pattern. Only a specific amount of fabric is printed per design then divided up to be made into select styles! This makes you’re LuLaRoe pieces fairly unique and almost one of a kind! With over 8 million pieces in production there is never a lack of variety in the designs!

• LuLaRoe’s clothes are perfect for any woman wanting to feel comfortable and beautiful! My favorite part of selling LuLaRoe is seeing the reactions to the prints and fits of the clothes! I love the bright lit eyes and “oh-ing” and “aw-ing” when someone wearings LuLaRoe for the first time!

Amy sells on Facebook, and you can check out her shop here! Other LuLaRoe stylists can be found in your area too if you’re looking for specific patterns or styles.

I tried out the Randy top- a raglan tee with sleeves and a fun print in the body of the shirt. I was a little skeptical because I am super picky about my tops due to my 3-child, slightly squishy middle.

I have to admit, this top fits great! It is the perfect length and goes well with skinny jeans or leggings.  

The fabric is SUPER soft, and the fit is great! It doesn’t cling to my unwanted curves, but just nicely skims over them.

Any woman on your Christmas list would want something from LuLaRoe. I can’t wait to try some of the other items.

Lucky you- one of you will win a pair of one-size adult leggings from Amy’s inventory!

Here’s how to get your super-easy entry:

1. Visit Amy’s FB page, then come back here and comment with the item or style you’d most like to try! That’s it! I’ll use random.org to pick a winner from the comments! US and Canada Residents Only.

So, share this with your leggings-loving friends! Good luck!

UPDATE:  GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED


I’m not exactly a style maven.
I pretty much wear jeans and a shirt.  Very often that shirt is a t-shirt.
I’m all about comfy clothes.  If they are also cute and stylish, well that is a bonus.
If you’re like me, or you actually ARE a style maven, you’re going to love LuLaRoe.

My friend Amy introduced me to their clothes, and I even got to try out one of their cute tops.
Here’s what she wants you to know about LuLaRoe:

• LuLaRoe sells stylish, comfortable and unique clothing! They sell a variety of styles of skirts, shirts, dresses and leggings. 
• LuLaRoe is set apart by the unique designs on the pattern. Only a specific amount of fabric is printed per design then divided up to be made into select styles! This makes you’re LuLaRoe pieces fairly unique and almost one of a kind! With over 8 million pieces in production there is never a lack of variety in the designs!

• LuLaRoe’s clothes are perfect for any woman wanting to feel comfortable and beautiful! My favorite part of selling LuLaRoe is seeing the reactions to the prints and fits of the clothes! I love the bright lit eyes and “oh-ing” and “aw-ing” when someone wearings LuLaRoe for the first time!

Amy sells on Facebook, and you can check out her shop here! Other LuLaRoe stylists can be found in your area too if you’re looking for specific patterns or styles.

I tried out the Randy top- a raglan tee with sleeves and a fun print in the body of the shirt. I was a little skeptical because I am super picky about my tops due to my 3-child, slightly squishy middle.

I have to admit, this top fits great! It is the perfect length and goes well with skinny jeans or leggings.  

The fabric is SUPER soft, and the fit is great! It doesn’t cling to my unwanted curves, but just nicely skims over them.

Any woman on your Christmas list would want something from LuLaRoe. I can’t wait to try some of the other items.

Lucky you- one of you will win a pair of one-size adult leggings from Amy’s inventory!

Here’s how to get your super-easy entry:

1. Visit Amy’s FB page, then come back here and comment with the item or style you’d most like to try! That’s it! I’ll use random.org to pick a winner from the comments! US and Canada Residents Only.

So, share this with your leggings-loving friends! Good luck!

I have had some wreath form hanging in my craft room for months now, just waiting for the right inspiration to complete them. My sister came across a scalloped felt wreath from A Bit of Sunshine and I knew this was the right design!

Now I had to get some felt. I think I’ve become a little bit of a felt snob, because those 39 cent sheets from your craft store just aren’t cutting it for me. The colors are too basic and the texture is so thin. The felt I found for this wreath I got at a quilt fair in Denver. It’s actually woolfelt, and the colors they had for the Christmas season were just gorgeous!

To make your own, you need to cut a lot of strips of felt. I cut mine six inches long, and about one inch tall. I made a pattern out of cardstock and traced it on to my sheets of felt. Since my sheet was 12″x18″, i fit about 30 per sheet, and I used 4 colors. I didn’t end up needing all of my strips for my 14″ wreath, and had enough left over to wrap a smaller wreath form to give as a gift.

I decided which order I wanted my colors to go in and simply started attaching them to the wreath form with pins. Keep going all way around and when your first and last scallop meet up just tuck the edge under to create a seamless look. I was so lucky that my pattern ended up lining up! If yours doesn’t, don’t fret. You can either cover it with a ribbon or just make sure two of the same color aren’t touching. I love how simple this looks, but I know you could dress it up a million more ways too!

Connect with us! You can find us here: