the.amanda.sewell

Last night we put our Christmas tree up. I put up the tree while M was still at work so we could decorate it when he got home. We had dinner and then we set up M's computer with a Christmas radio channel playing (since I cannot find any Christmas CD's so far -- they are still packed far far away), and started to decorate. The kids were hilarious with their decorating. They would put all the silver snowflakes on one branch and then all the jingle bells on another branch -- oh and only on the very bottom of the tree. DH and I had to remedy the tree a little once they were done. It was funny! After we had the tree up we did a photo session to have some fun family pictures (and because I *might* be a little obsessed with taking pictures.) I love the two pictures at the top -- my kids look so grown up them - kind of freaked me out! I can't believe Christmas is so soon. I am working on some fun elf gifts for a couple sweet people and I am trying to get most of our

So lately I have been noticing that a lot of the traffic to my blog has been to the tutorial on how to make the pinecone balls that I put together about a year ago. SO, due to the increase in popularity, I thought I would get rid of some of my extra supplies on hand (because I made some already this year again and my fingers are sore enough) -- I have decided to giveaway a kit that contains enough supplies to make three balls. It features some great papers and ribbon and will be similar to the ones you may have seen at orientaltrading.com . I know it is not a huge giveaway, but I thought it would be fun! To enter, tell me what your favorite Christmas tradition is in the comments section of this post. I will draw a random winner on December 1st , so enter today!!! UPDATED: We have a WINNER -- Post number 44 was chosen using the random number generator and the winner is *drum roll please* Rosella said... WOW! I'd love to make some of these beautiful pinecones! I think my fa

So my house has been officially broken in . . . while BIL & SIL were here, they brought their little not so potty trained puppy and he peed and pooped a couple times on the new carpet. I had been doing so well with keeping my puppy from going on it too . . . *sigh* Then J and his cousin decided to color on the walls in blue crayon and pencil. So my living room/dining room now has those all over it. Today was a rough day! My sweet children decided to color on my upstairs hallway walls with black sharpie, and my DD decided to tell me that her brother did it. Her brother was the only one to get in trouble because I did not notice until I was doing the primer that DD wrote her name on one of the chairs so basically I knew she lied to me at that moment and my heart sank. It is the first time she has ever lied to me *cries* The primer seemed to cover it well. Now I just need to get a small roller to put the paint over top of it again . . . . hopefully it turns out well.

This is just the yummiest recipe. We just had it for dinner tonight and it is great!!! Tastes like thanksgiving in a bowl! Enjoy!!! Thanksgiving-Leftovers Shepherd's Pie Serves 4 to 6 * 3 cups cooked stuffing * 1 cup cranberry sauce, plus more for topping (optional) * 1 pound sliced cooked Roast Turkey With Sage * 10 ounces glazed carrots, (or another leftover vegetable) (I used green beans and corn) * 4 to 6 tablespoons gravy (I just poured about a 1/2 cup of gravy over the top, maybe more) * 3 to 4 cups mashed potatoes Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, mound stuffing on bottom; layer with cranberry sauce, turkey, and carrots. Drizzle with gravy; spread potatoes over surface to sides of dish. Top with more cranberry sauce, if desired. 2. Bake until heated through and potatoes are golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have been so blessed. I have a wonderful hubby and two wonderful children and we all recently moved into our dream house. I am spoiled absolutely rotten and feel loved. I have amazing friends, amazing blog readers/friends, who make me feel like I am at least kind of good at this whole stamping thing and inkspire me all the time to be better. I am thankful for all the amazing things I have given to me, as well as the little challenges that help me to be a better person. So, in case you all had not noticed, I like to cook and bake. I think it is fun! However, after completing thanksgiving dinner, I think I might be in need of a little break. I thought I would share with you some of the food I cooked and recipes to go with it, so plan on bookmarking this post! *grins* Our Thanksgiving menu: ** Breakfast : Cold cereal, orange slices, melon slices, orange yogurt cake Orange Yogurt Cake Orange-Yogurt Cake Ingredients Makes one 8-in

So I got a private message in my box the other day on SCS, and then a couple days later, another one came and I was informed that I had been elfed twice and I needed to send my address and choose 2 other people per elfing to elf as well. I still am working on who to choose . . . there are so many cool people who are so awesome on SCS . . . here is the thread if you are interested in gifting a couple of your friends this holiday season. Also, apparently they have a second thank you thread that everyone has been posting on here . Anyway, I wanted to show you what two very generous people did for me . . . I was so surprised by the amount of generosity it made me teary. I feel so loved by my stamping friends and I just want to thank the two sweet elves publicly for how awesome they made me feel and how they both went over the top in surprising me. ELF #1 (We'll fictitiously call this one Jody - lol) sent me: a cute handmade altered lunch tin with an Elzybells stamp inside, a big

I have this great book that I picked up at Walmart a couple years ago that has jar mixes that are perfect for holidays and special occasions. I decided I wanted to do something nice for the people who helped us move in, so I made up these snack mix jars and decorated them using my papertreyink " Holiday Treats " set. I sponged around the white paper on one and not the other. Not sure which one I like better. Each of them have a tag telling what is inside them as well (it says Cranberry Christmas Snack Mix - stamped using my Karen Foster Design Snap Stamps). I used my largest scallop punch to create a cover for the metal part of the jar. The colors are real red and old olive. Ribbon is some organdy that I had left over from making foam ball ornaments last year, from Michaels. Now for the most important part -- what's inside: 1 cup salted almonds, 1 cup dried cranberries, 1 cup yogurt covered raisins and 1 cup white chocolate covered pretzels (I made these myself w

The move went super smoothly and we ended up having lots of help! It was great! The new guys from our ward who helped us out were super buff and unloaded super fast! It rocked. I managed to get the kitchen unpacked today and I am thinking I might go unpack my stamp room this afternoon so that I can get back to playing at night after everyone is in bed. I was so tired last night though I think I went to bed at like 8:15 pm. Ooops! We are loving the new house and I just thought I would post a new post so you would know we made it here. Off to make lunch for a couple of munchkins and then back to unpacking for me . . .

My friend Jaime came into town from California to visit and it was fun to catch up and let the kids play together. The last time we saw each other was quite awhile ago. Jaime used to live in AZ close to us. She was also one of my room mates in college. She is tons of funniness! It was totally fun to see her again and hysterical to watch the kids play together now that they are actually big enough to play together. Here is her totally cool baking blog she started recently and you should go check out: Baking Memories at Chateau Vin Riche Oh and I made the most simple broccoli cheese soup ever for lunch. I was surprised that it tasted as yummy as it did. In an effort to use up all the stuff in my fridge/freezer -- I chose this recipe: EASY CAULIFLOWER BROCCOLI SOUP 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen cauliflower 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen broccoli (I used one that had cheese sauce - smaller pieces) 1 can cream of celery soup 1 can Cheddar cheese soup 2 soup cans milk 1 cup shredded cheddar (thr

We took the kids to see Bee Movie today. It was really funny because when we walked in, we ran into some friends and their four little girls. E ended up sitting with them. The movie was a lot of fun. I laughed out loud quite a few times. Very enjoyable!!! I finally finished crocheting a baby blanket for my friend Kristen, but I totally forgot to take a picture before I wrapped it. I seriously have been crocheting for days to get it done in time when I really should have been packing, but oh well, at least it is done now. Now I just have to get packed up. I thought the baby shower was today, but it turned out to be next weekend (oops) so I took it over early since next weekend is moving weekend. I really hope she likes it! I also made a frame to go with the blanket, it matches the the altered letters that I made with her for her new nursery. I did manage to remember to take a picture of how I wrapped it all up. I made the bow after I saw this wonderful tutorial on Splitcoasts