Helen, GA

Over Presidents Day Weekend the family and I decided we needed to get the heck out of dodge for a few days! We decided to head up to Helen, GA for the weekend, for us it was a quick three hour drive north of Atlanta.  Helen is a cute German style town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It offers an abundance of activities year round and during their peak season the water rafting in the Chattahoochee River is a huge draw.  Within the town there is lots of gift/souvenir shops, German restaurants, and LOTS of German Beer!  The river runs through the length of the town and several restaurants sit on the bank of the river.  The views are awesome and relaxing.

The places to stay vary from hotel rooms to luxury cabins.  We chose a cabin rental company about fifteen minutes outside of Helen.  It was all that we had hoped for and more!  Almost all cabins come with hot tubs as a standard feature...and let me tell you, what an excellent feature!!!!  Cabins also had kitchens so were able to store and cook our own food...which is nice when you have children that are endless pits:)  Here are a few shots of our cabin...

 The last day of our trip we headed up to Anna Ruby Falls...it is a National Park and is a great way to spend a day.  The waterfalls are absolutely beautiful and even the boys thought they were spectacular!  The only downside according to Andy, the .5 mile walk to the top.....yes folks....I said .5, a half mile.  Oh, the whining!!!!!  Good grief!  but getting to the top was worth it...even though we were passed by old ladies on the way we enjoyed the view all the way to the top:)

At least they were smiling on the way down the trail....

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Because Ali asked me....

I have found you LOTS of St. Patrick's Day activities and projects!  I have yet to decide what I am going to do for the day but when I have it done...you guys will be the first to know:)  


The Toymaker does some awesome stuff with paper!  You can print off the design..preferably in cardstock, cut, score, and get creative.  Check out the rest of her site for more ideas, the paper dolls are very cute.

A Fanciful Twist is another card stock craft that any teacher would love to receive.  You will need some good card stock, glue, and some glitter.  Turns ordinary card stock into a beautiful brooch!


Looking for something to put on your mantle or a shelf, check out Lindseys Craft List...she has created a Lucky sign out of a block of wood and it is CUTE!

and for the scrappers, Miss Crafty Pants offered this digital scrapbooking download last year.  It is a great layout, cute, and the best part...it's FREE!!! After you download the scrapbook page, check out her chunky clovers...paper, wood, and mod podge!  To top it all off, her cupcake wrapper and  topper printables are some of the cutest I have found for St. Patrick's Day, plus she includes the recipe for her Mint Cookie Cupcakes.


Hope this post gives all of you some ideas and thanks for stopping by to take a look!!!!

Love Bucket

The Oreo suckers needed a great way to be displayed, I found a bubble gum bucket that was going to be thrown away and decided to re-purpose it.  Of course it had to be painted...using a primer and spray paint that was made for plastic it was given two coats.  

My next step was to cut out the printable found over at littlemiso.  Using the paper cutter, I trimmed off all the edges, and rounded the corners.  The stamp pad was used around the edge of the entire card, and spray glittered.  

Canvas Corp glue was used to attach the image to the bucket...then I used a spray sealer to make sure it all stayed attached!  I used ribbon left over from the tassel project and attached just above the printable.  Floral foam was stuck in the bottom of the bucket and shredded paper was used to decorate the top.  It was glued in, and spray glittered on top.  

Thanks for stopping by to take a look! 

Oreo Suckers

These super easy and very cute cookie suckers have been on the agenda for some time!  Last week I donated these for a bake sale and they were a huge hit, and tomorrow Andy is taking them in for his big class party.  If you are interested in making them check out this tutorial on How does She?, a great tutorial and super easy to follow.  See what I created in the picture below!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Blocks of wood

Hi everyone...time seems to be getting away from me these days!  This post has been on my mind for quite some time, first off I started with this printable from the Betty Crocker Wannabe.  Super cute, and so many possibilities!  After a trip to the Home Depot for supplies, and then another to wal-mart for ink....I was ready to get started!

My plain block, measuring 6 x 6(really about 5 1/2) was sanded and primed with spray paint...after another spray of primer, I painted it with red folk art paint.

After letting paint completely dry, I sanded some of the edges off and antiqued with a Tim Holtz tea dyed stamp pad.  I used the printable in its original size, it fit my block of wood perfectly so I decided to keep it original size. Before attaching the printable, I used the stamp pad again around the edges. Then used the canvas corp scrapbooking glue to attach mine but regular glue or even a glue stick would work...just work out the wrinkles. 

With everything attached, again the entire thing was sanded over one time, then spray glitter was applied to the entire front of the block.  I use a box to apply spray glitter, it still goes everywhere but it does help control the process!  The finial at the top came in pieces from Hobby Lobby, after gluing the pieces together I painted, sanded and antiqued.  The block of wood did not come with a hole in the top, so I took out my handy drill and put a small hole in the top for my finial.  I also put a small dab of glue to make sure the finial did not come out!

To finish it up, I found a tiny clotthespin which I hot glued to the finial...I wanted to be able to use a picture  I had cording from canvas corp that I wrapped around several times and attached a tim holtz charm.  See the finished project below!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!!!

Bread Pudding w/Blueberry Lemon Sauce

Hello! I would like to apologize for my lack of postings lately.  The family got big news on Friday and I think I have been in a tailspin ever since....I know, as with all ten moves this family has gone through with the military, it all works out but WOW....it sure is alot to think about!  Especially in a brain that already feels like it filled to maximum capacity:)  Anyway, the news is about the move...and we are headed to Germany!  So super excited I can barely stand it!!!!  

On to why you clicked on the page in the first place....the recipe!  Made this last week for my family...in Sam's they had blueberries, which jogged my memory of this recipe and made my mouth water for it!  If you make it....be prepared to hide a piece for later in the fridge!  Also, I found my blueberries at Sam's and I believe Costco also has them.  Both of these stores have them in larger packages, they are fresh and always tasty.  

Bread Pudding w/Blueberry Lemon Sauce
1 1/2 Cups of sugar
4 large eggs
2 Cups Whipping Cream(never claimed it was healthy:)
2 Cups Milk
1 Tablespoon grated Lemon rind(I use lemon rind from the spice section)
1/2 teaspoon groung nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 16 oz. stale french bread, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 Cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Beat sugar and egs at medium speed until fluffy.  Add whipping cream and next four ingredients beating until blended.  Fold in bread cubes and blueberries.  Pour into lightly greased 13 x 9 pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  Let stand for about ten minutes to cool.

Sauce:
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 Cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 Cup sugar
1 Tablespoon corn starch
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries of frozen.  

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Add blueberries and reduce heat, stirring constantly for 3 to 5 minutes until sauce thickens.  

Cut up bread into squares and spoon sauce over it! 

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Bakerella!!!

Hi All!!!!  Hope everyone is hanging in there through this winter weather....it is chilly here in southern Alabama but nothing compared to the five degrees or lower I know some of you are going through.  Very quickly, I wanted to pass this along.  Over at Bakerella, you can snag yourself some free printables....yes, FREE....it does not get any cheaper than that folks:)  I will be using these for teachers gifts, treats for the kids classes, and a special treat for my neighbors. Check them out and load up on ink!  While you are there, also check out their Cake Pops....those will be making an appearance soon, right here on The House of Reeves!

Thanks for stopping by:)