Because All Good Things Must End

I waited until today to write this post. I was afraid if I posted it yesterday you would all think I was playing an April's fool joke on you.

As you all know, I took on the name MrsChadT almost thirteen years ago, when I married Mr. Chad. At first the nickname start out as labels for on Christmas gifts and things that I made.

Then after the birth of our daughter I took that label and formed it into a business. The funds from my writing and from my etsy shop have allowed me to help pay off our oldest daughter's medical bills.

Last year, those bills were forgiven by the doctor and that debt is now paid. (A big thank you to God and to the doctor who preformed Bell's surgeries.)

I've been struggling over the past few years to keep both my book shop and my blog running along with making time for my writing in between tending to my family.

It has been a hard decision for me, but as of July 1st, 2013 I'm consolidating my blog and closing the MrsChadT shop on etsy.

I have been spreading myself too thin, lately. Most days I feel like I have split personalities as I write here and at my inspirational blog.

I've had much time in prayer about this decision and hope you all will continue to follow me and make the transition with me over to my site at www.susanlower.com.

Over at my other site, you'll find encouragement, crafts, and the inside scope on my writing.

MrsChadT's etsy shop will remain open until the end of June. I will also be selling off addition scrapbook papers, stickers, embellishments, and other supplies in order to downsize and make more time to write.

I also have a new fan page on face book and would encourage you to "like" me over there, too.

Thank you for your past support and your continued support through this new leg of my journey. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us, can you?

Lego Sugar Cookies

Boy's birthday was this month. We saw these cool Lego cookies over at sweetsugarbelle.com's blog.  I encourage you to head over there and check them out. They're picture perfect.

But here are how mine came out.

First we made the dough.... Easy enough...

Rolled out our cookies

Cut them into squares and rectangles and baked the cookies 

Mixed up our royal icing 

And wahla... our Lego cookies. 

Boy took them into his class and his cub scout troop for their weekly meeting. They might not have looked like the inspiration cookies, but we had a lot of fun making them. Not to mention that they tasted good, too.

Green Bottle Center Pieces

Don't know what to do with all those extra empty bottles laying around? Instead of toss them in the recycle bin, how about creating a simple and beautiful decorative center piece for your table?

I got this idea from seeing string covered bottles on pintrest. Got to love pintrest, right?

I'm showing it off today over on my other site, so for more photos you can check them out over there.

Shamrock Shakes

(I apologize for the dark photo, my camera and I haven't been getting along when it comes to "flashing")

We got these big mugs as a gift from a picnic we attended last summer. They're super huge and super great for making shamrock shakes. Want a little less expensive way of creating a shamrock shake then running to McDonald's?

Try this recipe:

2 cups of vanilla ice cream
1 cup of milk
1/2 tsp of peppermint extract
4 or 5 drops of green food coloring

Put in the blender and blend together.

Then add a dollop of whip cream and some green sugar sprinkles on top (optional)

YUM!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Appreciation Photo

This appreciation photo is from the lady bug book pictured in the photo above that I made for a customer in my Etsy shop.

What a cute table layout.

Thanks for sharing!

I love it when you all share photos of the events of which I've made a book for!

Lady Bug Hairband in Plastic Canvas

I grabbed some hair bands at the Family Dollar. They were  6 for $1.00 and made some hair bands fro the girls. I stitched up this lady bug then cut it out and trimmed it. I stitched it to the black band.

They say lady bugs are lucky and what better for the month of March right?

I'm currently working on some shamrock clips that I'll share shortly.

Layered Salad

Layer 1 - Lettuce

Layer 2 - Celery

Layer 3 - Peas

Layer 4 - Slices of boiled egg

Layer 5 - Mayo (2 cups with a tablespoon of splenda)

Layer 6 - Shredded chedder cheese

Chill for three hours and serve!

This is one of my favorite recipes from E-Mealz. So simple!