UPrinting Giveaway Winner: Let's try this again

To contact us Click HERE
This first winner never came forward so we are trying this again!

Thank you everyone who entered!  I hope to have a giveaway at least once a month, so keep checking for the next one.

The winner for the UPrinting Letterhead is....

patricia

I work with kids with special needs. I would use the stationary for notes home to parents

August 21, 2011 10:11 AM

 Congrats Patricia!
Please contact me via email within 24 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

Recipe: Spenser's Sloppy Toms

To contact us Click HERE
This one comes from the Neely's on Food Network, and is a family favorite.  I usually add a little extra spice cos that's the way my family likes it, but it is an excellent recipe just the way it is, so I will give it to you exactly how it is written on Food Network.

This picture is from the Food Network website (all others are mine)

Spenser's Sloppy Joes

Recipe courtesy The Neelys

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 25 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
• 4 hamburger buns, split
• Barbecue sauce, for topping

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet with straight sides. Add the bell peppers and garlic. Saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the ground beef to the vegetables. Stir and cook about 8 minutes, until the meat is no longer pink and fully cooked.

Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire, and hot sauce into the skillet. Stir. Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Serve on hamburger bun with extra sauce.

Freebies: Kids' Fluids Chart

To contact us Click HERE
After a recent check-up at the doctor's office we decided we needed a way to make sure Big Sister is getting enough fluids.  She drinks milk in/with breakfast, but drinks water the rest of the day.   I've never figured out a way to get her to drink more milk until I had the doctor tell her she needs to be drinking 3 glasses a day.  We worked out a chart to be sure she's getting enough of all the right fluids- 3 glasses of milk, 2 glasses of water, and one glass of juice.


Here's what we do:
Milk- one in/with breakfast, one with her afternoon snack, and one with dinner.
Water- at school- she takes a small bottle with her to school and refills it once she has finished it.
Juice- I make her popsicles from juice using the Tupperware popsicle mold.  Now, I know this is only 2 oz, but she usually gets a little juice at some point in her day, so I am not so worried about it.  She enjoys the popsicle treat, and I am happy it's not completely loaded with sugar.

Here's a chart I made to help Big Sister remember what she has had already.  I gave her an off on Sunday since we are usually pretty busy that day.

Fluids Chart


Enjoy!

Vintage Deer & Bottle Brush Trees {A Tiny Vignette}

To contact us Click HERE
In my haste to get the last of the holiday decorations up, I decided to clear a spot on the bookcase for these little vintage deer. A set of three purchased at the flea market, they really can be used throughout the year and do reside in my office permanently. With a few bottle brush trees that were too large to join the other Christmas vignettes throughout my house, they make a nice little accent to the room.


I am busy wrapping, baking, cooking and most of all, waiting to bring my family together for Christmas!

Merry, Merry Kitchen Tree {Vintage Style}

To contact us Click HERE
I have set up a small Christmas tree in my kitchen dining room for the last few years. Rather than save the Christmas decor for only the more formal rooms in the house, I can enjoy the holiday lights while I am whipping up a batch of holiday cookies or a quick meal.


I have a larger tree in the family room, but that is not visible while I'm unloading the dishwasher or doing other glamorous chores that must be done every day. It's a small way of keeping the holiday spirit in view during the busiest days of the year.


This tree is just about ten years old, but it has a vintage vibe to it, especially after I've added some tiny vintage Christmas ornaments, glass bead garland and a sweet little frosted tree topper. Under the tree I've created yet another little glitter {Putz} house village. I've kept the color scheme red, white and pink this year. That way, when the tree is still up in mid-January, I can say it's a Valentine-themed tree and I am actually way ahead in decorating for the next holiday {lol}.








Seriously, this little tree village is the last decoration to come down in my house. Particularly when the cold dark days of winter settle in and most of the decorations have been packed away, this little tree brings a little light to the kitchen. The season passes so quickly. Shouldn't the holiday sparkle continue just a little bit longer?

DIY Wrapping Paper

To contact us Click HERE

I had so much fun wrapping gifts this year with my own DIY painted wrapping paper. Even better, it cost practically nothing to make. Naturally, I wanted to post this before Christmas but just didn't get around to it. You know how it goes. And anyway, you can make use of this craft anytime of year. It only takes a little bit of time to do and it's totally worth it.





Materials:Brown packing paper (I used paper that came in a box from Amazon which means it was free to me. yay!)Paint, color of your choosingfoam brushes and/or cork (I used a wine cork to make circles)
What to do:Paint any design you want on your paper and allow to dry. I used the foam brushes to paint rectangles and a wine cork to paint circles at even intervals all over the paper. 

This paper is so casual and fun. I actually like that it's wrinkled and imperfect. I think it's rather charming that way. In my painting I tried metallic paint which created a subtle, sophisticated look and a neon green (my favorite) for a punchy, fun look. Using packing paper is not only affordable it's also earth friendly. Yay recycling! Another great way to keep the wrapping costs on the cheap is to use scraps of yarn for ribbon. You can also write messages directly on the paper. 

Even more fun was the washi tape I used to wrap the presents. I now understand why everyone seems to be so into this tape. Seriously, I think I'm going to find some more gifts for people just so that I can wrap them. I'll definitely be using the heart tape come Valentine's Day. I love how the white of the tape is a little bit transparent. So sweet. It perfectly complements the brown wrinkled paper. 

Even though the presents are wrinkled and haphazard, you can tell that they were wrapped with love and care and really that's what gift giving is all about. If you are looking for some decorative Merry Christmas gift tags, check out my free to download printables here. See sample above.
--
Follow along with me here:Bloglovin // Twitter // Facebook // Pinterest

Hostess Gifts :: The TomKat Studio Holiday Gift Guide

To contact us Click HERE

Are you ready for Christmas yet? We are sharing some last minute Hostess Gift ideas today from our sweet friend, Jenn from Hostess with the Mostess! As seen in our holiday gift guide, these gift ideas will be sure to make any hostess happy!

Check out Jen’s gift suggestions:

• Casserole Carrier
• Glitter Tart Server
• Manzanita Candelabra
• Curve Frame
• Crackle Flute
• Kraft and Silver Reversible Gift Wrap
• Handheld Frother
• Beaded Linen Pillows

To find these fabulous items, click HERE and then click on the item!

Free Printable Gift Tags from 10 Fabulous Designers :: Holiday Gift Guide

To contact us Click HERE

Hopefully you aren’t totally done with gift wrapping yet, because we are sharing an AMAZING collection of FREE printable gift tags today! All of these fabulous designs were created by our favorite printable designers and featured in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide! I thought I would feature them today, just in case you missed them or forgot to download your favorites!

To download, click here to view the gift tag section in the guide!

We want to give a big thank you to the fabulous designers who participated:

Jessica :: Pen N’ Paper Flowers
Catherine :: Design Editor
Maureen + Adria :: Anders Ruff
Kelly :: The Party Dress
Kim :: The Celebration Shoppe
Kori :: Paper & Pigtails
Paige :: Paiges of Style
Lindsey :: Pretty Darn Cute Design
Becca :: Cake

Adorable Clothing from Cici & Ryann on Zulily Today!

To contact us Click HERE

You know we love the fabulous shopping deal site, Zulily! Today, Zulily is featuring one of our lovely sponsors, Cici & Ryann! Be sure to check out the adorable outfits while they are on sale (limited quantities available)! Sale begins 12/23/12 at 7am PST!

Click here to visit Zulily and check out the Cici & Ryann Sale!

 

THIS IS A SPONSORED POST. THE TOMKAT STUDIO MAY HAVE RECEIVED PAYMENT, TRADE AND/OR PRODUCTS IN EXCHANGE FOR PROMOTING.

The Stoegbauer Family featured in Arizona Foothills Magazine!

To contact us Click HERE

We were recently contacted by one of our fabulous local magazines, Arizona Foothills to be featured in a holiday family traditions article! The magazine sent photographer, Chadwick Fowler out  and we did a few family photos in our kitchen! (I know, I really need to share photos of our whole house!) Along with four other Phoenix families, we were interviewed about our favorite holiday traditions which (as you can guess) include baking, decorating and visits from our elf, Shiny!

You can read the full story online here!

Photography by Chadwick Fowler, Modern Wedding Scenes
Article by Melissa Larsen, Arizona Foothills

The Sweetest Gifts :: The TomKat Studio Holiday Gift Guide

To contact us Click HERE

We are so thrilled to have our sweet friend Angie Dudley, aka Bakerella, as a guest contributor for our Holiday Gift Guide again this year! We love Angie and all of the creative ideas she continues to come up with for cake pop designs and other yummy treats! She has always been such an inspiration to Kim and her blog was one of the first that Kim started following. It has been amazing to watch her success and growth. Who knew her cute idea (she invented cake pops, people!) would become such a huge trend! Even Starbucks sells cake pops now…crazy! (We hope she gets something for that, or at least a little credit?) Angie also shared a fabulous Santa Cake Pop Tutorial from her latest book, Cake Pop Holidays in our the guide, which we’ll be sharing here on the blog soon! In the meantime, check out the SWEET gifts Angie came up with!

Check out her gift picks…

• Cake Pops Holidays by Bakerella
• Jeni’s Ice Cream Sandwiches
• Candy Perfume by Prada
• Tattly Party Set Temporary Tattoos
• Kitchenaid Stand Mixer
• Glitterville Cupcake Carrier
• Wooden Popsicle Playset
• Cookie Stamps

Looking for links for these fabulous ideas?

Click here and then simply click on each item!