The Creative Princess

Awww...love is in the air.  Valentines Day is just around the corner.  Over the next few days I will be sharing with you some awesome Valentines Day gift ideas.  Today though, I will be sharing some awesome Pinsperation! To start, let's start with breakfast!  My friend Kristy, over at Mommy Hates Cooking , came up with this CUTE and oh so simple Valentines Day breakfast. Now on to the crafts and valentines! **WARNING** do NOT rush out to your local paint store and snatch up all of their pink paint chips after you see this.  I may or may not have done that over the weekend.  ANYWHO!  You just take a paint chip strip, use a punch and punch out hearts.  Then use a hole punch at the top, tie a ribbon through and bam!  Instant bookmark/valentine!  Check out these awesome valentines!  They are from Beth over at It Is What It Is .  I love simple ideas like this and then think 'Why didn't I think of that'. Do you remember...

Do you go antique shopping?  As long as I can remember I have been an antique shopper.  The little town I grew up in has another little town near by that claims to be the "Antique Capitol of the World".  Growing up the town was full of antique stores, I am not sure if it still is or not.  The little town I now live in has two antique stores.  I have my favorite of the two and I can't really tell you why it is my favorite but it is.  There is hardly any room to walk in the store, it is busting at the seems with just stuff.  Anything you might want....you can find here.  Last week I was on a mission to find some old measuring spoons to use for a project.  Luckily I took my hubby with me, he is tall..I am way short.  Up on one of the tip top shelves was a basket FULL of measuring spoons!  I walked right passed the basket, totally didn't see it.  Hubby did though, being all tall and stuff.  WooHoo!  I ended up getting...

{Clementine Chicken} Ingredients 3-4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts 2-3 Tbs Olive Oil 1 Clementine Salt and Pepper to taste Directions Zest one Clementine (reserve clementine) Mix zest with 2-3 Tbs olive oil, once combined pour over chicken then season with salt and pepper (if you like) Slice remaining clementine and place pieces over chicken Bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees Enjoy!

A few weeks ago a friend asked if I could make some Tissue Paper Flowers for her little girls birthday party.  I of course said yes.  There are TONS and I mean TONS of tutorials online of the ins and outs of Tissue Paper Flowers.  There are even videos.  My head was spinning. So, me being, well....me I decided I was just going to have to figure it out on my own and use pieces from each tutorial I looked at.  That didn't work!  HAHA!  So, it was back to the drawing board.  Here is what I came up with, this will make a medium sized flower/poof. {Supplies Needed} Tissue Paper Floral Wire or Pipe-Cleaner Scissors {Directions} Lay 4 pieces of tissue paper out on your work area, lengthwise.  Cut right up the middle so you end up with two pieces.  Place the stacks on top of each other and begin to fold.  You will fold accordion style (like you are making one of those fans we used to make back in the day), with each fold being a...

Oh Vanilla Pudding!  I LOVE Vanilla Pudding!  Growing up we would always have boxes of Jello Pudding Mix in the pantry, either instant or cook and serve.  Now, as a child I LOVED chocolate pudding.  What kid doesn't?  As an adult, I now prefer vanilla. And....... I like it warm. Yep, I like my pudding warm...if not a bit hot.  As a kid though, I LOVED it cold.  Funny how things change as you get older. This mix is not an instant mix, you do have to stir it on the stove but, it is fast and easy.  Also, just like most things using vanilla beans, the flavor gets stronger the longer you allow it to sit. {Vanilla Pudding Mix} adapted from CreativeHomemaking.com 3/4 Cup Dry Milk Powder 3/4 Cup Cornstarch 1 Cup Sugar 2 whole Vanilla Beans 1/2 tsp Salt In bowl combine milk powder, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Split vanilla beans lengthwise then scrape out seeds (reserve spent beans). Add seeds to dry ingredients and whisk well,...

  I was recently sent a box of baby essentials from Bzz Agent.  Inside the box was a package of Comforts wipes and a package of sippy cups along with some product coupons. If you did not know, Comforts for Baby is a Kroger store brand.  I was hesitant at first to try the wipes, I am pretty picky about the wipes we use.  Much to my surprise they were actually pretty good!  I still have my favorite brand but these would for sure be a close second place. I, unfortunately, do not have a Kroger store or one of their affiliates close to me so I could not use the coupon for a free pack of diapers.  I was able to pass that coupon on to a friend who was very excited to use it.  I also gave her a few of the other coupons that came in my pack and passed the rest out to other friends. The sippy cups I was sent have been used a lot.  There is just something aboout a new cup and my girls.  I don't know what it is but whenever we get new cups they want t...

Raise your hand if you LOVE Pinterest !!!! Oh you better believe I am raising my hand, both hands, and waiving them around like a mad woman! I started on Pinterest in May...or June...or July...Sometime last Spring/Summer.  I was very hesitant at first, I didn't want one more site I was addicted to.  Thanks to my dear friend Jess.....the rest they say.....is history.  I was invited and signed up and ready to go.  Oh my!  Since then, I have made a lot of yummy, a few not so yummy, and some pretty cool things. This week I am going to share with you some things I want to try soon.  Now, if I actually get them done will be an entirely different story.  HA! First up..... These SUPER cute baskets! Aren't they CUTE?!?!  I need some more storage in my pantry and these would be great for the little odds and ends. Next we have these Chocolate Croissants.... YUM!  I had a Chocolate Croissant one morning at Walt Disney World...my goodnes...

 {Please ignore the "old" chocolate look.  I put them in my fridge to store, bad idea} I first saw this recipe on Pinterest .  We LOVE the Quaker Chewy Granola Bars and when I saw these tasted JUST like them I just HAD to try them. These don't taste JUST like the ones you can buy in stores.  However, they are still REALLY good and healthy.  You can pick and choose what you want to add in, I chose to do the Smore's version because it is our fave.  You could swap the marshmallows and chocolate out for say....Craisins and dark chocolate.  Oh!  That would be REALLY good!  I will have to try that next time. The original recipe says to use plain granola but, I bought a honey granola cereal (my options are pretty limited around here) and it was GREAT. Also, when storing I placed a sheet of waxed paper between each layer.  This works really well. {S’mores Chew Granola Bars} adapted from Back to the Cutting Board Ingredients 1 Stick un...

Ooooh Vanilla Scones.  I just love Vanilla Bean Scones !  Seriously drool every time I even think about them. My love for Vanilla Bean Scones started at Starbucks a few years ago.  I was scared to try to make my own because well, I had only had them from Starbucks and I did not want my love for them to be tainted by a bad recipe. Oh!  My!  Gosh!  Am I ever so glad I tried this recipe!  It is very easy and, in great PW fashion, she walks you through all of the steps with ease.  The one thing I did not do was cut the scones small enough the first time.  No biggie though, this gave me a little extra scone to love.  The only other thing I would do next time is make my glaze a bit thicker.  I followed her recipe to a "T" but I would add a little less salt to the dough and a bit more powdered sugar to the glaze next time. Oh!  Also!  The very first thing I did was scrape the vanilla beans into the cream and let it sit f...

Ugh. You know it's not going well when the post starts with an "Ugh". So last week I told you all about how I killed my laptop .  Yep, dead.  Well.....the new one got here late Tuesday afternoon!  WooHoo!!  It has taken me two days to feel it out and play with some of the features. While having the new laptop is great....the rest of my week hasn't gone so well.  It has had some highlights, like getting free diapers on Saturday and donating my goodies to the Salvation Army, but there have been some lows. Sunday we woke up and we were all sick.  Yes, ALL of us.  Ugh!  Mads was the worse, followed by me, then hubs, then MG.  MG is still kind of snotty but is better for the most part.  PHEW!  Hubby's head still feels like it is going to explode.  I feel just crummy, snotty, congested, head hurts, throat hurts....ugh. Then, then there is Mads. My sweet girl really was not feeling good Sunday.  Monday seemed a bit better...

As I mentioned in my previous post , I signed up to be a part of the Champions for Kids: Abbott Nutrition Pack a Snack project. I decided my donation would go to my local Salvation Army Backpack program. I chose this program because they provide meals for school age children that might not otherwise receive them. The children are nominated to the program by their teacher or other school staff. The teacher in charge of the Backpack program on the school level then goes one day a week and packs bags for the children. Each child is given one bag of food per week, they can either take their bag home or leave it at school in their locker. A few weeks ago I stopped by our Salvation Army location and spoke to them about their needs and to make sure what I planned to purchase was in line with their program guidelines. I decided to purchase 25 packs (100 shakes) of the PediaSure SideKicks , in a variety of flavors. This was enough to provide each child in the program with two shakes ...

A HUGE congrats to our winner..... Anna Marie! I will be contacting Anna Marie in just a bit to let her know she has won.  If for some reason she is unable to attended the classes I will pick another winner. Thank you to those that entered!

Hey guys!  I just wanted to let you know I am still here.  If you aren't keeping up with me on Facebook or Twitter then you don't know that......I killed my laptop.  Yep, gone.  Buh-bye.  Ugh! Don't worry!  A replacement is on it's way and will be here next week!  WaHoooo!! In the mean time, my posts here will be sparse as the good ol PC is ancient....to say the least.  In the time it takes me to write one post on this thing I could have had 10-20 done on my laptop.  *SIGH* On the bright side!  Yes, there is one.  I have been doing a lot of projects that I can't wait to show you!  Maybe being without a computer isn't such a bad thing sometimes? I wanted to also take this time to remind you that you can find me on Facebook , Twitter , Google+ and Pinterest !  SWEET! Oh!  One more thing, the giveaway (yes, for Tulsa area peeps only...sorry guys) is still going!  HURRY and enter though!  I will be draw...

If you are from the Tulsa area, chances are you have at the very least heard of Saied Music Store .  Some of you may have even stepped foot in one of their stores.  I became familiar with Saied in the 5th grade. At my school every 5th grader was given the option of joining band.  I wanted SO BAD to learn to play the drums.  That was not what I would pick though.  I decided on the flute, my best friend was going to play the flute as well so it just seemed natural for me to also play the flute.  I played until my Sophomore year of high school, that was also the year I was crowned Band Queen. Saied Music Store came out to our school with some instruments and let us test them out to see what we liked.  I decided on their basic student flute.  I still have it in my attic.  I also still have all the music I ever learned up there....sheets and sheets of it. Now that I am an adult I would really like to learn to play the piano.  Being so fa...

  This weekend I had the opportunity to go to the Regal Nail Salon inside my local Walmart.  I could choose any service I wanted, I chose to have Gel Tips put on.  It has been a very, VERY long time since I have had my nails done at a salon and it showed!   My cuticles and nails get SO dry and brittle.  I would like to say this only happens during the winter but, it is a year round thing.  I have tried to grow my nails out for years.  They just don't grow.  One or two will grow then they start to split on the side.  I don't know why they do that.  I was very pleased with the salon.  It was very clean and well kept, the techs were very nice and knew what they were talking about.  I waited about 5 minutes for my turn.  The tech I got was very nice, he helped me decide on what service to get and even offered tips to help keep my cuticles from drying out so much.  I decided on the Gel Tips and look forward to g...

As some of you know I had a recipe featured on Mom It Forward yesterday!  How exciting!!  I made the Toffee Crackers that have been floating around the internet for the past month. Be sure to check out Mom It Forward and "like" them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter ! A few of you have emailed me and asked a few questions about a few things.  Since some of the questions were the same I wanted to share the answers here as well in case there was anyone else wondering the same thing.  I also wanted to show you some extra pics of the process. Q1: What kind of cracker did you use? A1: Well, I actually used two different crackers and a cereal.  I wanted to see what one I preferred and if the same process would work on cereal.  I used regular saltines, Ritz and Rice Chex.   I preferred the regular saltines over everything else.   I liked the Ritz but they did not enhance the flavor like the saltines did.  They just kind of ble...

I recently signed up to be part of the Abbott Nutrition Pack a Snack project.   This project is so close to my heart.   You have heard me talk about wanting to start awesome things in this community.   You know I have a heart and passion for helping kids.   You have also heard me talk about the kids around here being hungry.   Oklahoma is now the 4 th hungriest state in the US.   The number of Oklahomans at risk of going hungry every day is astonishing to me, 600,000 people!   One in four Oklahoma children struggles with hunger.   I know for my community that number is much higher.   We have to do something about this!    For this campaign I will be purchasing Abbott Nutrition Snack Packs and donating them to a local charity.   The charity I have chosen is my local Salvation Army Backpack program.   This program provides food for children for after school and weekends.   It surprises me that most people do not...

This week I had to opportunity, thanks to #CBias and #TysonGoodness, to get more Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches .  I was hoping to catch a demo at the store but I had no such luck. Bummer. I was able to grab the Mini's though.  WooHoo!! I LOVE these little sandwiches, so do my girls.  I am busy these days and sometimes I just don't have time to cook dinner.  These sandwiches take just over a minute to make, seriously FAST!  The other night we needed a FAST meal, we got home late from dance and I had two VERY hungry girls on my hands.  Have you ever experienced a 2 year olds tantrum?  How about a 6 year olds?  Yeah, so not fun!  Luckily I didn't have to listen to that mess long.  I paired the sandwiches up with a clementine and some sweet potato fries.  The girls still prefer to dismantle the sandwich and eat just the chicken, but that is how they like them and I am not going to complain since they love these sandwiches and act...

I just found this CUTE snowman pizza last night on Pinterest . {pic is Delia's , be sure to check out her site, lot's of cute stuff} Isn't it CUTE?!!?  Yeah, I think so too. Christmas Eve we made a Christmas tree shaped pizza, we actually made two but one was really wonky.  The girls got a big kick out of it, I won't lie....I did too. I can't wait to try the snowman version.  I just can't decide when to try it, this week or the first day it snows. Now that I think about it, I am going to try it this week.  Who knows when it will snow this year, it has been in the 60's the past few days!  Saturday we hit 70!  Amazing!