Preparing for Breastfeeding Twins

This post about preparing for breastfeeding twins is sponsored by Philips Avent.

Even though I’ve never done it, I know that breastfeeding twins takes a lot more work and dedication than breastfeeding a singleton. Besides the fact that there are two babies getting their nutrients from you, there’s also the fact that preparing for breastfeeding twins can be quite daunting for a first time mother.

So when my brother’s girlfriend told me that she wanted to try breastfeeding her expected twins I knew I wanted to help as much as she’d allow me. And that started with realizing the importance of a good breast pump.

In the early days of my children’s lives I felt as if I always had a newborn on the boob. At least for the first 6 weeks. My shirt felt as if it were always lifted up or off all together. No, seriously… it totally was! Even though I completely loved breastfeeding, it was exhausting. But then we got the hang of it, figured out a rhythm, and had great success.

Kylie pregnant with babies ultrasound [Read more…]

DIY Burlap Christmas Wreath Tutorial featured on Formula Mom

DIY burlap Christmas wreath tutorial

DIY Burlap Christmas Wreath Tutorial

A few weeks ago I shared on instagram a little glimpse on how naptime is spent for me. I’m usually either baking up something tasty, creating crafts, working on projects around the house or catching up on work. My office is a disaster just about every day of the year but that’s ok. Because I can do what I love and am in my element!

When my best blogging friend, Mariah of Formula Mom, got to the end of her pregnancy I knew I wanted to do something special for her. So instead of actually making and sending her something, I made her a DIY Burlap Christmas Wreath Tutorial for her blog instead. [Read more…]

Apple Cheddar Quick Bread

Apple Cheddar Quick Bread

I absolutely love a good, hearty bread with a bowl of soup when it’s cold outside. And this week it’s gotten pretty chilly! So when I stumbled upon this delicious Apple Cheddar Quick Bread recipe over at Simply Stacie I knew I needed to try it.

From it’s deliciously soft inside to the crunchy crust on the outside, this is the perfect comfort food to go alongside your favorite warm dish. And it’s so easy to throw together!

In true Danielle fashion, though, I did make a few changes to the recipe to tweak it a bit to our liking. Our version is below but I highly suggest checking out Stacie’s too! [Read more…]

Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes

One of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving, besides the giving thanks and being with friends and family, are the leftovers. The delicious, tasty, easy to heat up and eat whenever you please leftovers. I love Thanksgiving leftovers so much that when I started writing up this post I realized that I had no Thanksgiving leftover recipes of my own. Because I just eat the leftovers as is! Or in a huge, Dagwood style sandwich.

So I reached out and asked my blogging friends what they do with leftovers. And I’m so glad I did. Some of these dishes may sound a little weird, and others sound absolutely amazing. But they all have one thing in common. They’re delicious! [Read more…]

How to Make a Thumbprint Reindeer Ornament

Reindeer Thumbprint Ornaments

Need a simple, inexpensive gift for the grandparents and other family members this year? Try your hands at this Thumbprint Reindeer Ornament and see how easy it is to create a personalized gift your loved ones will treasure for years to come.

Not only does it get the kids involved in the holiday spirit, it’s super easy to make! And you don’t have to stop at reindeer. Why not grab some white paint and make some snowmen! Or a whole snowman family.

We had the kids from my children’s preschool use their thumbprints on the ornaments we made. We then took them home to dry, personalized them and created the reindeer, and then gifted the ornaments back to each child to have a keepsake for their tree. [Read more…]

How to Make A Recipe Card Using PicMonkey

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how to make a recipe card with picmonkey

If you’re like me, the holidays means full-fledged baking frienzy. Whether I’m making something for a party or gifting a platter of delicious cookies to a friend, I love to bake as much as possible and share delectable goodies with those closest to me.

Most of the time when I share an edible gift I’m usually asked for the recipe. So I decided this year I’d get ahead of myself and create recipe cards for the homemade gifts I make. And, of course, I’m using my favorite editing site to do it – PicMonkey!

By using their new Design feature I’ve figured out how to make a recipe card so that I can easily share the recipes I love. Want to know how? Read ahead!

How to Make A Recipe Card Using PicMonkey

1. Head on over to PicMonkey and click on Designhow to make a recipe card PicMonkey Design2. Now choose the size you want your recipe card to be. I chose a 5×7 layout (or 2100 x 1500 pixels)

how to make a recipe card 5 x 7 canvas3. By using the Canvas Color option under Basic Edits, choose the color you want your background to be.

how to make a recipe card canvas color4. If you want your recipe card to be Landscape, under Basic Edits click on Rotate and rotate your canvas.

how to make a recipe card rotate to landscape5. Add your recipe photo (if you have one) by going to Overlays (butterfly icon) and clicking on Your Own. Then choose the photo you wish to choose on your computer or other image source. Position it to the location and size you want it to be on the card.

how to make a recipe card adding overlay photo6. Add the title of the recipe and the ingredients and instructions by adding Text to the card. If you’re a Royale Member of PicMonkey check out the awesome new Santa Script options. They’re some of my new favorites and what I’ve used on my card! Feel free to use the same color by grabbing and copying the color number (6 digits) and pasting it into the color box of your new text box.

how to make a recipe card add text

7. Now add some flourish and design to your card. To create a divider in between your ingredients and directions, use a Geometric overlay by re-sizing a rectangle.

how to make a recipe card divider line

8. Add a border to one side or both by adding more Overlays. You can also add a frame around the recipe card under Overlays. I really like the look of the drop down option for these cards.

how to make a recipe card flourish

9. Now it’s time to Save the recipe card to your computer so you can upload and print from your favorite photo site or print from home.

how to make a recipe card save card

10. Grab your printed recipe card, your plate of goodies, and start spreading some holiday cheer!

Gingerbread Cake Recipe Card with border resized

Have any questions about this tutorial? Please feel free to ask in the comments below. I’ll try my best to help you out if you have any questions! And for the full recipe post for the recipe above, visit my Gingerbread Cake Recipe post here.

What’s your favorite homemade gift to give?

Looking to play more with PicMonkey? Here are some fun projects to try out:

How to Make a DIY First Day of School Sign Using PicMonkey #BackToSchool

DIY First Day Of School Sign

PickMonkeySubwayArt

How To Make Subway Art With PicMonkey

How to Make Valentines with PicMonkey

How to Make Valentine’s with PicMonkey

Disclaimer: This post is contains affiliate links

10 Holiday Stocking Stuffer Ideas from Dollar Tree

This post is sponsored by Dollar Tree.

Holiday Stocking Stuffer Ideas from Dollar TreeOne thing I absolutely love seeing my family open every year are their stockings. While Santa usually brings a few traditional items that are always included as stocking stuffers, he also throws in some fun goodies that the kids can play with and enjoy the morning of Christmas.

In an effort to reduce the amount Santa spends this year, we’ve decided to ask Santa for one big item each and then let him decide on a few smaller items for the stockings. So we headed out to one of my kids’ favorite stores, Dollar Tree, and checked out what they had in store for us this year.

And what do you know? We found plenty of awesome ideas for Santa! From board books, to dolls, do bugs and snakes, there was plenty at the Dollar Tree to keep my kids occupied. They even had stockings to purchase in case we didn’t have ours already. What a great idea for wrapping a gift!

Oh, and did I mention that for one of my family’s get togethers we’re planning on grabbing 5 things we love from Dollar Tree and wrapping those in lieu of our Secret Santa gift exchange? We’ll do it White Elephant style and everyone goes home with 5 new things! I can’t wait to go shopping and see what I find. [Read more…]

Holiday Baking with Land o’ Lakes Butter {Gingerbread Cake Recipe}

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This Land o’ Lakes butter shop and gingerbread recipe have been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client.

Gingerbread cake - This gingerbread cake is not only full of spices and yum, it's also not overly sweet. It goes great with a nice cup of coffee or a scoop of ice cream.The holidays are here and my kitchen is in full gear for all of the holiday baking that’s going to be done over the next two months. Luckily I stocked up on butter and the rest of my needed pantry staples so that I can whip up whatever I need when the time comes.

Since I’ve been hosting quite a few playdates I wanted to test out a great cake recipe that wasn’t too sweet. My husband and I love baking and the number one rule in our home (and a little inside joke with the husband) is that our fridge can never be without butter.

While we were at Walmart picking up a few crafting items for my daughter’s upcoming birthday I jokingly asked my husband if he was sure we had butter in the house. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and ran to go grab a 4-pack.  [Read more…]

Craft Room Organization Ideas with the Brother P-Touch

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Brother P-touch. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and promotional item as a thank you for participating.

Craft Room Organization IdeasThe holidays are upon us! And for me that means busy season. Not only are we crafting up a storm this time of the year but I’m also working a lot as well. So that means organization is key.

Since my craft room and office are the same workspace (shared with the kids playroom) I really need to stay on top of the organizing so that nothing goes missing. Because it has before.

My secret weapon for tackling my craft room organization is the Brother P-touch PT-H100 label maker. With it’s ease of use, multiple options, and quick printing, I can have everything I need to get my craft on right in front of me and easily identifiable. [Read more…]

Grilled Teriyaki Salmon

Grilled Teriyaki Salmon

With the hubub of the holidays around us, I’ve found myself indulging a bit too much lately. So I’ve decided to try and get back on track and watch my eating habits over the next few weeks. Sure I’ll save a few moments of indulgence for Christmas when it arrives but there’s no excuse for treating every day in December like a holiday! This grilled teriyaki salmon is one step in my plan of eating healthier than I have been.

In order to get this beautiful char on the salmon, and not have my salmon stick to the grill pan I used, I sprayed a little Pompeian Grapeseed Oil that I received for review onto the grill pan first before using it. And what do you know?! The salmon came off the pan easily and effortlessly! Plus the oil didn’t interfere with the awesome taste of the marinade I used on the salmon.

To keep things simple I served this salmon to the family with my kids favorites: brown rice and broccoli. They’re broccoli fanatics so I knew they’d gobble up their plates. And they did! They even tried the salmon. My daughter still isn’t a fan but my son asked for another fillet! The next day I stir fried the left over broccoli, rice, and a few other ingredients in my fridge using the grapeseed oil again and made a delicious healthier “fried” rice for breakfast. Yum!
[Read more…]



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It is OK to use one of my photos provided a link back and/or proper credit is given. It is NOT ok to copy and paste a whole post including instructions. Please do not remove watermarks or alter images in any way. Please contact me with any questions at danielle@acraftyspoonful.com

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