thankful thursday: august 8th

today, i'm thankful...

that even though God's ways are not our ways and things don't always makes sense...

i am thankful that i can trust that He has a plan.

so much of my crazy roller coaster of a life hasn't made sense to me, and i don't always see His plan, but what a comfort to know that HE HAS ONE.

He hasn't forgotten me.

He loves me and wants what's best for me, even if it isn't the way i imagined it would be.

i read this quote the other day on a blog, and it really hit home for me.

"God doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle, although I’m often sure that he is over-confident in me. Life is all about how we react to the change of plans. It’s a constant choice to react with hope and faith."

isn't that the truth? how do i react when His plans don't match up with the ones i made in my head? of course i would love to know what His plans are for me, but today i'm just thankful for the fact that He has a plan for me. just need to keep taking things one step at a time.

i don't know what the future holds, but i know WHO holds the future. and for that, i'm thankful.

tuesday treat: spinach & artichoke dip

today's treat is:

yum yum!

a few years ago, when the hubby and i were living in iowa and he was going to school and i was working, we got into the habit of having a frozen pizza every sunday night for dinner. it was cheap and easy :) one of our favorite ones that we tried was the "california pizza kitchen" sicilian pizza. YUM. they started selling it as a combo with some spinach and artichoke dip and a pita bread to bake with the pizza for an appetizer, and let me tell you - it was DELISH!!

(here's what it looks like:)

sadly they don't sell that combo anymore (not that i have seen anyway!!) but we still love that sicilian pizza! my friend shanti made this dip for me during our year in the bahamas and i liked it so much i have been using her recipe to make our own appetizer of spinach and artichoke dip! we eat it with tortilla chips. it's so yummy i wanted to share!

SPINACH & ARTICHOKE DIP
(recipe from my friend shanti)

1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzerella cheese
2 tsp garlic powder
1 package of spinach (shanti used frozen, i've always used fresh)
1 can artichoke hearts (either quartered, or halved that you cut up yourself)

it is so simple to make!

step one:

gather your ingredients, drain your artichokes, and chop your spinach

step two:

place all ingredients in a bowl

step three:

mix everything well

step four:

scoop everything into a square baking dish

step five:

bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes (until cheesy is a little bubbly)

step six:

try not to eat it all yourself! ;)

it goes great with chips, or pita, or little slices of toasted bread.

ENJOY! :)

giveaway: winner!

special friday post to announce this week's giveaway winner!

first, THANK YOU to everyone who shared my blog and etsy shop!
ya'll are awesome.

the winner for this giveaway is:
(chosen at random)

CHARISSA M.

charissa, i will message you the details for your custom canvas! :)

please stay tuned on the blog as i'll be sure to do another giveaway soon, and as always you can order from my etsy site, or email me at allthingscheerful22@gmail.com

have a wonderful weekend!!

thankful thursday, july 18th

it's been a little while since i posted one of these! whoops.

tomorrow is my sweet husband's birthday, so it seems fitting to make this post about him :)

there are so many things i'm thankful for about him, but here are just a few....

*the way he makes me laugh

*the way he can tell what i'm thinking, without me saying a word

*the way he works hard to provide for our family

*the way he holds my hand while we're watching tv or taking a walk

*the way my head fits perfectly into his shoulder when he's hugging me

*the way he sees things in life

*the way he pushes me to be a better person

*the way he is always adventurous

*the way his strong arms make me feel safe and secure

*the way he takes care of and loves our family

*the way he helps others

i could go on and on, but i'm sure i've been sappy enough as it is! haha.

happy happy birthday to my wonderful husband!
so thankful to be celebrating you and the awesome man you are.
so thankful to be your wife, and for all the crazy adventures we've already had together.
looking forward to growing old with you and have many more crazy adventures with you. <3

tuesday treat: giveaway!

today's treat is a special one, because it's not a recipe....

it's a giveaway!

i am giving away one 16x20 handpainted canvas, with a phrase/saying/quote and color of your choice :)

all you have to do to win, is one of the following:

1. share either my etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/allthingscheerful) or my blog (kristigraves.blogspot.com)on your facebook page

2. leave me a comment on this post letting me know you did so

that's it!

a winner will be chosen at random this friday, july 19th (which happens to be my amazing hubby's birthday!)

**edited: the giveaway will close at midnight on thursday, so you can enter until then!!**

check back friday to see if you're the winner! :)


ps: here are a few canvases i've made in the past few weeks:

make it monday: painted wooden frame

today's make it monday is a "how-to" on painting a plain wooden frame to dress it up!

step one:

start with your blank frame.

i got this frame for only $1 at michaels! :)

step two:

select your paint.

these bottles of paint are only about $1 as well, so this is not an expensive project :)
you can get them at any craft store or walmart.

using a foam brush, i painted the entire front of my frame, as well as the sides.

let it dry before moving on to the next step.

step three:

using the end of the foam brush, i chose a lighter blue color to make polka dots on my frame.

randomly space them however you think looks nice until the front is covered the way you like! :)

tip: if your polka dots aren't all the way filled in from the end of the brush, you can take a small paint brush and go back over any areas to touch them up.

step four:

this step is completely optional, but to add even a bit more spunk to my frame, i decided to add some glitter to my polka dots (if you know me very well, you know i love all things glitter) :)

i got this awesome set of martha stewart glitter gels for christmas last year, so i picked a blue color from that set,

and (once the polka dots were dry) using a small paint brush, i filled in each circle with a bit of glittery goodness :)

i glittered all my polka dots, and it looked like this:

step five:

this is also completely optional! but i decided to add one more thing to my frame. this is going to be a baby present for a friend of mine, so i cut out the letters "baby" from my cricut and attached them to the front. i used white contact paper for the letters.

another idea you can do is to spell out a phrase, or someone's name. here's one i did for a friends nursery and spelled out her little girls name:

you could also leave it with just the polka dots if you wanted, as it is still cute that way too :)
and if you don't have a cutting machine, you could also stamp letters on! there are lots of options :)

step six:

once you have the top of your frame looking the way you want, seal it with a layer of mod podge.

i like to use a foam brush to paint a thin layer over the entire top.

tip: once i've covered the entire piece with mod podge, i like to go back over and make smooth even strokes in one direction so that it dries evenly.

once your mod podge has dried, your frame is ready to put a cute picture in! :)

this is a cheap and easy way to make a personalized frame for yourself or someone you know!
happy crafting! :)

tuesday treat: neiman marcus cookies

sorry for my lack of posting!
i spent last week on a long weekend with the hubs, enjoying some much appreciated downtime from our normal routine!

today's treat:

$250 NEIMAN MARCUS COOKIES

this recipe is from my mom, and i can't remember where she got it, but if you search, you'll see there's a story that goes along with why it cost $250 for the recipe (haha!)

Makes over 100 cookies

5 cups oatmeal (measure and blended into a powder)
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
24 oz chocolate chips
1 8oz hersheys bar (grated or chopped)
3 cups chopped nuts (optional)

this recipe makes ALOT of cookies! when i made them today, i fourthed the recipe, and still got over 20. i gave you the entire recipe that you can half or fourth as you please! :)

STEP ONE:

measure oatmeal and blend to a fine powder. set aside.

note: i've done this in both the blender or the food processor, and both work just fine :)

STEP TWO:

in a bowl, cream the butter and both sugars.

add eggs and vanilla.

STEP THREE:

Mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, powder and soda.

Add choc chips, hershey bar and nuts.

STEP FOUR:

Roll into balls and place 2 in. apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 375* for 10 minutes.

They are a change from the regular chocolate chip cookies, and are great for an event since they make so many! :) ENJOY!

make it monday: printables 101

i have had a few requests on how to make a printable, and i'm here to show you an easy way.

today's make it monday:

sidenote: if you have photoshop, i think that's the best way to make one, but many people don't have that, and it definitely takes time to learn all the ins and outs of photoshop!

so for an easy beginner way to make a printable (ie: art you can print out), i use picmonkey.


*disclaimer: picmonkey knows nothing about this tutorial and had nothing to do with this post. i just like their website!


STEP ONE:

go to www.picmonkey.com

click on: edit a photo

(click on any of the screen shots to see it bigger)

STEP TWO:

upload a blank white page to start with.
i found mine HERE

also you need to decide on a quote! i saw this quote in someone's room posted on pinterest and thought it was sweet "so many of my smiles begin with you". :)

STEP THREE:

on the second button down, (looks like a chemistry bottle), scroll down until you see the "DRAW" tab. when you click on that, you want to pick a color you like for your background. i change the brush size to the largest size, and then cover the entire page with my choice. when you're satisfied, click "apply".

STEP FOUR:

next, click on the "P" tab (4th one down), and click on "add text". then type in your quote. for this particular quote, i did the first part of the quote in one text box, and the last part in a different box so i could change the font and size of each one the way i want. :)

change the font to one you like! and you can pick a color you want the font to be. many of the fonts are free, but some are available only to those who pay a monthly fee to upgrade to picmonkey royale.

STEP FIVE:

center them and make them how you want them to look. be creative! :) for this quote, i wanted the "YOU" to be a different font from the first part of the quote to set it apart a bit.

you can change the size by using the drop down box, or by typing in your own # of size to get it how you want it to look.

STEP SIX:

add a little doodle to spice up your quote. click on the shapes just below the "p" to see some premade shapes, or have a chance to upload your own.

i tried a heart, but i didn't love it.

so i went a few more down and found the bugs - and added a ladybug instead :)
you couldn't see the ladybug very well against the pink, so i went back into the "draw" tab and changed my background color.

the last step - don't forget to save your project (i like to use the biggest size) and then you're set!

once you've saved it, all you have left is to print it out!
i have used walgreens or shutterfly (always search for coupon codes!)
and i haven't tried this, but i'm sure you could also use photo paper and your own printer.

here's a bigger shot of the one made above:

here's a picture of one i made and printed out last week. i saw something similar to this on etsy so decided to try it for my gallery wall :)

the possibilities are really endless.

i found this other fun tutorial with more ways to use picmonkey HERE

have fun with it and happy creating!!

ALSO: if you'd like this "smiles" print, leave your email address in the comments section and i'll send it to you! :)